


The Oath of Hurtful Love

by thefalconofthefall



Series: The Wings of Hopes and Dreams [12]
Category: Hatoful Kareshi | Hatoful Boyfriend, Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Hatoful Boyfriend, Alternate Universe - High School, Character Death, Character Development, Childhood Trauma, Consensual Possession, Corpses, Emotional Manipulation, Eventual Happy Ending, Everyone Has Issues, F/M, Flashbacks, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Investigations, Mild Gore, Murder, Murder Mystery, Revenge, Sibling Love, Unrequited Love, it's pretty fucked up guys be careful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-08-27 20:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 61,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16709200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefalconofthefall/pseuds/thefalconofthefall
Summary: When a seemingly normal autumn day spirals out into a day of horror, Trevor and Ruby must investigate to the root of all of this...and discover the horrifying things that the people they see every day hide, and ones within themselves.





	1. Dream of the Past

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the finale everyone! It has been over a year and a half, but finally, we have reached the route that had made Hatoful Boyfriend claimed their fame! And it's a pretty macabre claim to fame, so yeah, please read the tags carefully.

_ “Y, are you awake?” _

 

_ “Did you sleep early, my little moineau?” _

 

_ “Yeah, come on and play with Trevor! It’s a lovely day!” _

 

_ I opened my eyes, and saw Trevor...and my parents. I sat up, and gulped. It’s the small house over the fence again. I don’t know who lives in there...I always try to figure it out, but...nothing. There is no point, when I know what happens next. _

 

_ “Are you feeling okay, Y?” Mama asked. “You seem tense…” _

 

_ “Did something happen?” Papa asked. _

 

_ Trevor looked up at me worriedly, but before he could answer, a loud bang. Papa bolted up, pushing Mama to us.  _

 

_ “Grace! Take the children and run!”  _

 

_ Mama stood up, angry at Papa. “Vireo! You can’t possibly–” _

 

_ Papa ran off, making Mama even madder. But it doesn’t matter. I know it wouldn’t.  _

 

_ She grabbed my hand, turning to Trevor. “Y, hold my hand tight,” she said sternly, then turned to Trevor. “Trevor, fly, fly as fast as you can with us. We need to get away from here. It’s not safe.” _

 

_ We then ran, but then, a loud bang. Mama screamed. Her hand was loose in my own, and she fell. _

 

_ “Mrs. Gabena! Wake up!”  _

 

_ “Wake up Mama! Wake up!” _

 

_ “Aww...how cute…” _

 

_ “A little girl with a bird…” _

 

_ “A shame too...he’ll turn against her one day. In his blood and he doesn’t know it.” _

 

_ We turned around, and saw big scary men. They smirked, looking down upon us. I knew their faces well. They were faces of hatred, fear, desperation, and grim resolution.  _

 

_ And I knew their resolution well. _

 

_ I picked up Trevor, running away as fast as I could. They cursed and swore, bullets flying everywhere. Trevor started crying, and I did too.  _

 

_ I could hear them getting closer. I closed my eyes, and prayed. I prayed and prayed and prayed to be saved, to get away from here, to have Mama again, to see Papa again, and then...a flash of light. _

 

_ The shouting was gone. _

 

_ The bullets were gone. _

 

_ We were on a field, far away from the little house. _

 

_ “Close one, wasn’t it?” a gentle voice said. “Are you two all right?” _

 

_ I opened my eyes, and saw a strange bird. I could never make out any other details of her body or face, only her kind voice. I could never ask her for her name either, too terrified to speak. I looked down, and I saw a sniffling Trevor. Relief flooded me, for even when this nightmare repeats and repeats, Trevor will always be a comfort in it. I looked up to her, and nodded. _

 

_ “That’s good,” she sighed in relief. “You know, you are in good wings. I am a magician, a powerful magician who can grant you any wish. Tell me...is there anything you desire? Say it, and I shall make it true, but it may not happen today. It may not happen tomorrow either. But one day...” _

 

_ Trevor stopped sniffling, and answered, a firm and resolute answer that sounded unnatural from all of that crying. I answered after him, and she nodded, and I knew that after that, a flash of light will come and take us to Trevor’s house. _

 

_ But instead of that, she looked at me in the eye, and then, I saw that she had piercing blue eyes. She said, in a loud and clear voice, “You can take this chance to fulfill a promise from long ago, or you can continue to live a normal life. Which do you choose?” _

_  
_ _ I stared at her in shock. This never happened before. What does this mean? Is the promise what I said? And what does it mean to continue to live a normal life? I feel uneasy about this...but I know that this is the right thing to do. _

 

_ “I want to fulfill the promise.” _

 

_ Then everything around me disappeared, and I woke up. _


	2. Where's Trevor?

_ 9/2/???? _

 

“That’s all for today, everyone,” the professor announced. “You can all leave now.”

 

End of the day already...huh? It felt so long ago when homeroom started. Man, I feel exhausted. Must be from summer vacation. After I get home, I’m going to sleep. Though I wonder where Trevor went. I haven’t seen him since homeroom. I think the professor knows...oh shit. She already left!

 

I ran out to the hallway, and saw her walking. Oh good!

  
“Professor! Professor!” I called. 

 

She turned around, a questioning look on her face. “Hm? What is it, Gabena?”

 

“Have you seen Trevor? I don’t think I’ve seen him since homeroom…”

 

She thought for a moment, before nodding. “He told me that he needed to go to the infirmary earlier today, after homeroom ended. He wasn’t feeling well.”

 

That makes sense. Trevor never really was the healthiest bird.

 

“He had another stomach ache?”

 

She nodded. “Could be. You should go check on him, if you aren’t going somewhere else.”

 

I nodded. “I will. Thank you, professor, and goodbye!”

 

She smiled, giving me a small wave. “Goodbye, Ms. Gabena.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week, is when the prologue will finish and the actual first chapter will happen.


	3. History of the Birds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> History Lesson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UimCdJkUDHI  
> Normal theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBYpeGJo46Y  
> Confusion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_ZFbhgeavI

Urrrghhh….I need five more minutes of sleep…stupid alarm...

 

Wait... _ fuck _ . I’m late! I can’t believe I slept through my alarm! I may not be a morning bird, but I always wake up to it. I need to sleep earlier...anyways, I have to go,  _ now! _

* * *

 

“I’m sorry ma’am for being late!” I cried, flying over to my desk.

 

The professor simply smiled reassuringly, gesturing for me to calm down. “No need to worry, Cedrinus. We were about to sit down and begin homeroom.”

 

“Late on the second day of the term?” Ruby loudly muttered. “Expected of a feral.”

 

I looked around, and saw an empty desk. That’s weird…

 

“Professor, where’s Y?” I asked.

 

She shrugged. “Not here, apparently. I haven’t seen her at all today.’

 

“It’s not a wonder that her kind died off,” Ruby remarked.

 

I sat down, staring at the empty desk. Where are you Y? Usually you would be here early...you were late yesterday too, and looking more tired than usual. What happened?

 

The professor looked at the clock, before announcing, “We will start homeroom now, but first, we have to do a little review on the history of birdkind.”

 

Oh no...I never liked that story…

 

“You wait until  _ now  _ to teach that?” Ruby asked, then huffed. “What a pathetic region.” The students murmured among themselves in agreement, until she interrupted them all. 

 

“Of course, this was taught to all students years ago, but it’s required on the second day of the second term,” she interrupted, then cleared her throat. “But now, let’s begin.”

 

She glanced down at an open book on her desk, then said, “Back then, when bird Pokemon were companions of humans and inhabitants of the wild, a virus known as A(H5N1) appeared. At first, it only infected bird Pokemon, but it then mutated to affect humans.”

 

And this is when things go bad.

 

“The virus was highly infectious and had a high mortality rate. Knowing that the disease is a threat to human survival, humans made laws banning the ownership of bird Pokemon, and engineered a virus to kill off all bird Pokemon, hoping that it would prevent the disease to become a pandemic.”

 

Not a very good idea on their part. 

 

She sighed. “In hindsight, that decision was rash and foolhardy, but at the time world leaders saw no other option. Except….the birds didn’t die.”

 

Quite clearly.

 

“Instead, their brains grew in size and power, which also increased their strength in their own abilities. However, some rarer bird species, like the Braviary and the Mandibuzz lines, are still adapting to social life today.” 

 

Might be why Black yells all the time and the professor is a narcoleptic.

 

She then thought for a moment, before saying, “I believe that the first Delibird to hold office is elected last month, considered a great leap compared to many other Pokemon species due to having been a rather weak Pokemon battle wise and living in quite an isolated habitat before the endemic.”

 

“Even the Togekiss line, which was one thought to be close to extinction, is now able to adapt to social life.” She then had a wistful smile on her face. “We have a Togetic as an home economics teacher in this school, and very few members of that line studying in this school also.”

 

It is a blessing to have Professor Jikan in this school. No one deserves to have him and his heavenly cooking.

 

“And, as you all know, Johto’s prime minister is a Xatu,” she concluded. “But anyways, the sharp increase of intelligence of all bird Pokemon had a huge impact on both predators and prey, and lead to huge conflicts with humans that inevitably lead to many victories for the birds, due to many humans dying defenseless against A(H5N1) virus and the increased power of bird Pokemon. However, the few left still live peacefully with birds today.”

 

The bell then rang, making everyone to start packing up. The professor smiled, and said, “Well, that’s all for this history lesson! Remember to be on time next period, for we will start voting for members of the student council!”

 

I wonder where Y is...she never showed up...I hope she’s okay. I should try calling her.

 

Before I could reach for my Holo Caster, the professor said, “Cedrinus, can I have you for a moment?”

 

I dropped it back down. “Yes ma’am?”

 

“We’re supposed to get our print boxes today. Would you mind picking ours up?”

 

I stared at her questioningly. “Our print box?”

 

She nodded. “Yep! It has all the hand-outs for the voting!”

 

“All right, I’ll get it,” I said, starting to fly towards the door. “It’s at the faculty room, right?”

 

“Yep! Our class’ box will have 2-3 labelled on it! Please bring it here before second period!”

 

“I will!”

* * *

 

Print box...print box...hmmm...oh! That stack of cardboard boxes! These must be the ones!

 

When I went over there, I began scanning for our box, until I saw it. 2-3! Hmmm...holding it is awfully heavy. But no matter! I already did enough of heavy lifting in my life, especially spending a part of this summer helping Ms. Kukui! Besides, paper isn’t very light when there is many of them.

* * *

 

“Oh thank you Cedrinus!” Ms. Dorobo said, taking the box from me and putting it on her desk. “Was it too heavy for you?”

 

“Oh no, it’s fine, professor,” I replied, waving my wing.

 

“I’ll take a look inside, to see everything is there,” she said. “Did you cut yourself, Cedrinus?”

 

I stared at her questioningly. “Cut...my wing? No…”

 

She pointed down at it. “It’s bleeding.”

 

I looked down, and as she said, there was blood on it. But I don’t feel any pain…I’m sure I didn’t cut myself.

 

I looked up to the box, and suddenly, I saw blood on the bottom corner of the box. I suddenly felt queasy.

 

“What...what is that?”

 

The professor said nothing, staring at it in horror as I slowly went up to the box, and reached the lid. 

 

When I peeked into it, bile crawled up to my throat. Scorching flames engulfed me, and a loud, piercing cry filled the room, followed by a duller one. Blood red covered my eyes, and my heart pounded in my ears, making the flames grow worse and worse. But just like that, it was gone. Silence filled the room, and I no longer felt the flames on my skin. But the pain in my chest and the tears remained.

 

Even with just those glassy beautiful gray eyes and bloody soft blonde hair, I can still recognize her. She wasn’t late. She was here all along.

 

“No...it can’t be…it can’t be Y’s head.”

 

The professor stared at the box, before slowly turning to me, grief and shock in her eyes. The shock grew when she looked at me. “Yes...it is, Cedrinus. At least...I believe it’s you, Cedrinus.”

 

I slowly looked up to her, my confusion worsened. “What do you mean, professor?”

 

“You have evolved into a Talonflame, Cedrinus Trevor.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is where the trouble/fun begins. Also, this new update schedule of only one weekly upload is convenient for me now that I have finals coming up and need to focus on studying. Don't worry, you'll get the first chapter on Saturday.


	4. First Class

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HOPE YOU ALL LOVE SUFFERING CHILDREN
> 
> What the hell is going on!?/No one knows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md-XV1gOEcw  
> Investigation time/This Strange Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMHi6KqsG6E  
> Maintenance Office: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrMNnYMQw8s&t=4s  
> Emma’s theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAWUQHK0u3E

_ First class start. _

* * *

 

“Wh...what?”

 

How could I...have evolved? It can’t be...it can’t be right now.

 

“Look down, Cedrinus,” she simply said.

 

I looked down, and saw that the ground was more distant than it was before. Light gray feathers speckled with orange spots now covered much of my body, and instead of black feet, I now had yellow legs and feet, with sharp talons. When I spread my wings, I saw that they were much larger, with a black flame-like pattern that reached from the middle of my wings to the outermost tips.

 

I was taken by awe by a change I dreamed of since I was a Fletchling, but never would be able reached in a long while. I felt light as air for a moment, but then the reality of it crashed down on me. I would never attained this change it if Y was still here, and she would never see me at what should be one of the happiest and proudest moments of my life. 

 

“Cedrinus...you should sit down,” Ms. Dorobo asked, a sorrowful look on her face. “I’ll get you some water, then, when the class comes back, I’ll announce the news.”

 

She slowly flew away from her desk and out the door, leaving me to trudge back to my desk. I glanced over at the bloody box, then back to my desk when I remembered who was in there, then back at it again. I...can’t...believe...I can’t believe…

 

The professor flew back into the classroom, a water bottle in her foot. She flew down and landed next to my desk, taking the water bottle off of her foot and putting it on my desk.

 

“Here you go, Cedrinus,” she murmured. “It should help clear your mind.”

 

I nodded, opening it and gulping it down. It felt cool and refreshing, a relief that lasted until I saw the box, and I was reminded of what was in there.

 

“Cedrinus, please don’t look at the box,” the professor said firmly, then sighed. “It will only hurt more.”

 

I nodded, then went back to drinking the water, trying to keep my eyes fixed on it and the desk. A few moments after I stopped to catch my breath, the bell rang. The dread of the announcement then settled in, relieved when the professor said, “You can leave the room and not listen to it, Cedrinus.”

 

“Thank you, professor,” I replied, then waited until I hear the chattering of cheerful birds, talking with each other about their interests, schoolwork, and gossip, as they settled down on their desks, some of them smiling or acting like everything’s fine when they entered, others only looking at me in confusion before shrugging it off.

 

Seeing everyone like this, in their normal, everyday lives...it made me want to lash out and scream, to burn everything they know. They shouldn’t be happy like this. They shouldn’t be treating everything is normal, when it’s not. 

 

Ugh...but I know that I shouldn’t be angry like this. They don’t know yet. Not yet. I really need to keep myself calm. But I don’t think I can, if I know how they would react to it. After all, Y was just a human. She wasn’t a bird or Pokemon. It doesn’t really matter if she was dead or not.

 

I waited until the bell rang, then quickly ran out of the room, trying to not trip over my longer legs, with near success. I slammed door, then tried to keep myself from going in or putting my head closer to the door. It’s better if I don’t know their reactions now.

 

But after a few moments, I couldn’t take it anymore. I barged back into the room, to see shocked faces staring at me, some of them in horror. The professor looked up to me, tears in her eyes that wanted to fall, but couldn’t for the sake of her students. I turned to look at Black, staring off to the wall with a slack beak and empty eyes, instantly turning away and deciding to walk back to my desk. Seeing Black like this right now is too depressing. 

 

I turned to Ruby, hoping to see him as stoic and aloof as usual, but instead, it made me feel even worse. He was staring at the box as calmly as he could, but it couldn’t hide his horror of what was inside. Along with that horror, there seemed to be some kind of sadness...perhaps sympathy. It sounds strange, thinking that Ruby, of all birds, could feel sympathy, especially for a human like Y.But considering on how we knew that...I couldn’t blame him.

 

“Wh...what!?” he exclaimed, anger flashing in his eyes. “How–”

 

I nodded at him, then sat down at my desk. To think that in that box was Y….

 

Just then, blood red light flashed in my eyes, then a siren. The siren was drowned out by a loud chanting of “Emergency alert. Emergency alert. We have entered a state of emergency. All students please evacuate to the gym. Repeat, we have entered...”

 

“What’s happening, and why does it have to be so red?” Black asked softly.

 

“What’s happening!?” Ruby cried, then glared at the professor. “Is this some kind of idiotic disaster drill Dorobo!?”

 

“I don’t know,” she replied, looking more distressed. “And no, it can’t be a drill, it isn’t scheduled until next month.”

 

“Bah! Then we might as well follow instructions and find out what happened then!” I felt something soft hit my back, and I turned around, to see a rather irritated Ruby staring back at me. “No time to space out and think about Gabena now, Cedrinus! We have to leave!”

 

The realization of reality hit me like a bag of bricks. “No...we can’t leave Y alone here!”

 

“She’s gone Cedrinus!” he cried, looking sad that he had to say that. “The best thing you can do for her now is to care for your own safety!”

 

Hearing those words sounds so foreign on my ears...but Ruby’s right. Y wouldn’t want me to stay behind and put myself in danger.

 

The class started to gather up their things and follow after the professor, some of them flying after her. Ruby spread out his wings and took off into the air, then turned to me. “Now come!”

 

I nodded, gathering up my things and with some attempts, flew after Ruby as steadily as I could.

* * *

 

By the time we arrived to the gym, it was quite dim, with very few lights on, and crowded with both students and teachers. It was loud and uncomfortable, from the chattering of the students trying to come up a possible explanation for the evacuation, and the snippets of a bloody box with parts of a human corpse that their class representative opened and saw. Immediately after the professor found a place where we would report to as a class and did a head count, Ruby and I asked all the other teachers of what was happening. They all said the same: “I have no idea what’s going on”, “I don’t understand what’s happening either”, “No one told us anything about this.”

 

While we were walking back, I heard a boy said, “Hey, did you see the box?”

 

For some reason, I stopped when I heard that, and found that it belonged to a Noctowl, talking to a Fearow.

 

“Yeah,” she replied. “...Did you had it too?”

 

“Yup. The class rep opened and I didn’t see, but apparently...there was a human arm in it.”

 

What!?

 

“Cedrinus–”

 

“Ours had half a leg,” the Fearow answered. “It was really gross.”

 

Of course, that’s your only concern. A fucking chopped off bloody limb of what could be your schoolmate that you see every day in a box, and all you can think was “It was really gross.”.

 

But I shouldn’t expect anything more. They are no exception, from what little I’ve heard and seen. All of the students apparently received a print box with a part of a human corpse, and only a few seem to be concerned about it. Sure, they all thought it was a disgusting and grotesque sight, but many of them really weren’t concerned. After all, Y wasn’t a bird. She was a human, a descendant of those who tried to control their ancestors. 

 

“Cedrinus! Stop spacing out and get back with the group!” Ruby cried.

 

“Coming!” I called, starting to run after him, before I tripped over my long legs. I hope he or anyone else didn’t notice…

 

When I finally caught up to him, I saw that he was talking with Professor Dorobo, looking like he would probably set something here on fire any minute.

 

“If this isn’t an idiotic disaster drill, could it possibly be connected to that distasteful box?” Ruby asked. “It seems like every class here received a box having a human body part that most certainly belonged to Gabena.”

 

“I don’t have the faintest idea, Petalburg,” she replied with a mournful sigh. “Just like everybirdie here. I wish I have answers though”

 

He threw up his wings in the air. “Bah! Will someone explain this ridiculous state of affairs already?”

 

Yeah. Someone, please tell me what’s going on. Please...tell me this is a bad dream. Someone...someone wake me up...someone...please….

 

Suddenly, the sirens stop, and a cheerful chime filled the gym. Silence swept the crowd, as several TV screens pull out from the wall, revealing Headmaster Oak on it. Thank gods...I hope he has an explanation about this. He most likely does.

 

“Is everyone here?” he asked. “This is Oak Shida, the headmaster.”

 

“Yes,” all the teachers answered.

 

“Good, it seems like we have all gathered together without panic or noise,” he continued. “Unfortunately, there has been a natural disaster outside. This school is a designated evacuation site, so please remain here a little bit longer.”

 

“Natural disaster?” Ruby asked, then huffed. “Nonsense. The weather is perfectly clear.”

 

“I didn’t feel an earthquake either,” Black agreed.

 

“And we aren’t near a volcano either,” the professor added.

 

Ruby flew over to the screen, shouting angrily, “What is actually going on outside, headmaster!? Does this have to do anything with Gabena Yvonne!? Why have you brought us here!? I demand an explanation right now!”

 

Mr. Oak didn’t seem to notice Ruby’s shouting despite him being right there, in front of him, instead saying, “I repeat. There has been a–”

 

“No, you imbecile!” Ruby barked. “That’s–”

 

All the screens then shorted out, bringing back the whispers and confusion. Why would the headmaster not respond to Ruby’s disrespect? What did he mean by a natural disaster, when the day was clear and there were no signs of shaking? What is actually happening? I wish I knew…

 

I felt a gentle wing on my shoulder, and turned around, to see the professor, looking at me concernedly. “Are you all right, Cedrinus?”

 

“No–I mean, yes.” I tried to smile as convincingly and rapidly nod to help it, but instead, she just sighed sadly.

 

“It’s foolish to ask you that,” she murmured, then gave me a small smile of reassurance. “But it’s all right to admit you’re not fine, Cedrinus.” She looked off to where a screen was, grimness in her eyes. “It seems that today will be a bad day for us all. But we must push through, with hope for the best, and preparation for the worst.”

 

It seems? It’s a bad day already. The worst has already happened. Is there even any hope left?

 

“I think–” 

 

Both of us turned to Black, who looked like he was about to say something, but decided not to. I wonder what he was about to say...he seems very sad about it.

 

“Now that the headmaster proves to be completely and utterly useless, what do you suggest for us to do, Dorobo?” Ruby asked to the professor.

 

“Well, we can’t exactly carry on with class,” she murmured.

 

Augh! How could I forget!? We left Y back in there! We have to get her back! 

 

“We should go get Y back,” I said as firmly as I could.

 

Ruby stared at me in worry and shock, and while I didn’t see the professor’s face, I could tell she was staring at me in pity. “Calm yourself Cedrinus! To relinquish your sanity in a state of emergency is suicide!”

 

“I know that you’re grieving about Y too, Trevor, but you have to calm down!” Black agreed, sorrow and concern in his eyes. “Y will be fine!”

 

I tried to give him my best death glare, which seemed to work on both of them as they looked very nervous. “Leaving Y alone in the classroom is sane to you? To both of you?”

 

“If you’re going to glower at me like that, I would presume you would be mad!” Ruby retorted.

 

Black nodded fearfully. “Yeah! You’re acting really scary right now!”

 

I let myself relax. Of course they won’t believe me if I do that. “I’m sorry, Ruby and Black, but I’m fine. Don’t worry. There’s nothing wrong with me.”

 

I can feel the professor questioning about the truth, but I didn’t care, as I turned to her and asked, “Can I please return to the classroom, ma’am? I can’t bear to leave her like that…”

 

She stayed silent for several moments, before saying, “It would be useful to get her head for an autopsy report, though I’m not sure if it will still be there…”

 

Ruby stared at her in shock. “You’re  _ letting  _ him do this?”

 

“Mr. Oak said for us to remain here, not leave the gym,” she pointed out. “And I would rather to have someone to accompany you though, Cedrinus.”

 

Ruby seemed to have sighed in relief, before declaring almost instantly, “I’ll go with you, Cedrinus. It is my duty as the student council’s president to get to the bottom of this.”

 

Even though it’s clear that she doesn’t trust me...Ruby’s sentiments are still nice to see. He looks very determined and genuine about this, especially since this is someone he looks down upon every day.

 

“Thank you, Ruby,” I said, feeling a smile.

 

“You’re welcome,” he replied rather gruffly, then sighed. “As much as Gabena was a fool, loud, imbecilic, and lacking in manners or sense...she didn’t deserve such a fate. She never did any harm.”

 

He turned to me, then Black, then to the professor with solemn eyes that looked rather ominous with the red hue. “I swear...by my blood and name as a Petalburg...that I will find the one who did this. And I thank for your assistance, Cedrinus. I will need all the help I can get. Now, let’s go.”

 

“I wish you both luck,” the professor said, with a smile.

 

“I’m sorry that I can’t come along, I need some time for myself. But I wish both of you luck,” Black added, trying to give us a cheerful smile. 

 

“It’s all right Black,” I replied, then smiled back at him and the professor. “But thank you. Both of you.”

 

Ruby then took off in what seemed to be a majestic and determined style, and I followed after him, trying to fly as steadily as I could with this much larger body and wings. It feels nice knowing that we both have a common goal: to find out what happened to Y. Who did that to her, and why? Can the evacuation have nothing to do with her? Why would Mr. Oak not explain anything? And why is he so unreactive? So many questions, but no answers. And I don’t know yet what we could find…

* * *

When we exited the gym, we were immediately greeted by a dark gray sky, a stark change or a block from the clear autumn sky. What in the gods’ name!?

 

“Wh...what is this!?” Ruby exclaimed angrily.

 

I stared at it for a few moments. “A wall...a huge, gray wall.”

 

Its appearance seems like night had already set onto the school, even though it’s only 10 AM.

 

“A dome, rather,” he muttered loudly. “It seems that we are shut in from above as well.”

 

I tried to not panic. “But when did this happen, and how?”

 

“I don’t think any of us were in our right minds when we were evacuating,” Ruby reasoned. “It could be possible that it was already there. Thought it is most likely it was put in place when we were in the gymnasium, listening to the headmaster.”

 

“Mr. Oak said there was a natural disaster...maybe some sort of shield?”

 

He gave me questioning look. “A disaster so destructive, that we have to hide ourselves under an enormous gray blanket and wait?”

 

I can’t get nervous at a time like this! There has to be a good explanation for all of this!

 

“Maybe they….didn’t give the details to Mr. Oak...to cause a panic?”

 

He shook his head. “If that were the case, then they would be robbing our right to know why our very lives are in danger.”

 

You didn’t have to say that!

 

Ruby looked up to the shelter, in questioning and disdain. “Is this really a shelter? Is there really a natural disaster?”

 

That’s what I want to know too now, but there’s no point standing here and wonder. Maybe we’ll know more if we get to the classroom. Gods I need to calm down...my heart’s beating way too fast.

 

“Either way, we should go back to the classroom and then return to Ms. Dorobo. Maybe we’ll see if there is a connection to Y and all of this right now.”

 

He nodded. “You are correct Cedrinus. Let us go.”

“It seems that all of the classes left their boxes as they were, at the teachers’ desk,” Ruby remarked after a somewhat difficult search through the very dim hallway. I wonder why it and the classrooms has to have so few lights on while a wall is out there...

 

“I wonder if everybirdie is planning to stay in the gym…”

 

He shook his head and sighed bitterly. “Johto is a region of fools who grown lazy from too much peace. I doubt anyone else would take it upon themselves to investigate this matter.”

 

“Just because your family are war nobles, doesn’t mean you should presume that,” I countered, though I knew it wasn’t for the defense of the others. They don’t want to get their wings dirty in this matter because of slothfulness. They just don’t care enough about Y to do anything respectful for her. And the ones that do have their own things to sort out first.

 

Ruby surprisingly said nothing, instead walking up to our classroom door. “We’re here.”

 

He then opened it, revealing the box was where just as we put it. I can’t look at it…

 

“Ruby, can you please…open it? I’m sorry, but I can’t–”

 

“No matter, Cedrinus,” he interrupted, then went up to the desk. Silence reigned for several long moments, before he said, “It’s gone.”

 

WHAT!?

 

“What do you mean!?”

 

“There’s nothing in here,” he answered. “However–”

 

“It can’t possibly have been gone!” I cried. “We left it  _ right there _ ! It’s not like it got up and moved on–”

 

“ _ As I was saying _ ,” Ruby interrupted, sounding very annoyed. “However, it is possible that someone could have removed it while we were at the gym. Dorobo mentioned it would be useful for an autopsy report, so that someone might have been Dr. Esprit and her assistants who gathered them up to make the report while we were all in the gym. This is life, not a third-rate mystery novel. You need to calm yourself, Cedrinus.”

 

“Precisely, Ruby,” a familiar and very calming voice agreed from behind.

 

I turned around, and saw the ‘sexy and suave’ ladies’ bird, Rakutsu, wings crossed and a rather proud grin on his face. Thank the gods!

 

“Rakutsu!” I greeted.

 

“Salutations Trevor,” he greeted back, then gave me a mischievous smirk. “I see that you’re babysitting Ruby?”

 

“Do not throw my name around like a cheap toy, mongrel,” Ruby growled. 

 

He held his chest in mock pain. “How cruel! But I can’t blame you for being tense, given the circumstances.”   
  


I’m pretty sure all circumstances are bad for Ruby, since he’s always like this, Rakutsu.

 

Rakutsu then turned to me, a sorrowful and sympathetic look in his eyes that made me feel even more depressed, especially since he’s always so cheerful and relaxed. “I am...so sorry about her. It pains me to think what happened.”

 

I wish I could take this as reassurance, if it weren’t for the fact that it’s so depressingly strange to see him so sad. 

 

“You’d known her for a long time, Trevor?” he questioned.

 

“...Yes,” I answered, then looked at him hopefully. “Do you know something about all of this, Rakutsu?”

 

He sighed. “I wish I can say yes, but unfortunately, most of this business is still a mystery to me. However, I can answer some of the questions we have right now.”

 

“It’s very clear that Dr. Esprit already had gathered them up for an autopsy report and preservation of the students’ mental health,” Ruby postulated. “Most likely in the chemistry lab.”

 

Rakutsu nodded cheerfully, a stark change from the sympathetic mourning one. “You are correct on all accounts, my clever little brother.”

 

Ruby shot a glare at him. “Don’t talk to me like that.”

 

“But yes, as Ruby says, this isn’t a third-rate mystery novel. We won’t have a famous detective appear and find the culprit,” Rakutsu agreed, sounding like he was trying to contain a joke. “But anyways, the doctor and I had already gathered up all of her parts and took them to the chemistry lab so she can start the autopsy report, so there is no need to worry.”

 

Dr. Emma Esprit and and the phrase “no need to worry” _ do not _ go together in one sentence!

 

“You’re letting  _ the doctor _ to be alone with Y!?” I cried. “ _ Why!? _

 

Ruby gave me a questioning look. “You don’t trust her?”

 

“Who  _ would!? _ She’s done so many suspicious and batshit insane things, that it’s practically a miracle that she hasn’t been caught by the police yet! Y won’t be an exception!” I then felt my heart drop into my stomach. “And for all we can know, she may have–”

 

“Where’s your proof, Cedrinus?” Ruby interrupted, looking at me inquiringly. “You can not afford to accuse anyone for a crime like this without anything but baseless rumors!”

 

I felt ready to burst into flames. “Those rumors aren’t baseless! They are from actual and sane witnesses! She really is a nutcase! She might have killed her for an experiment or something completely insane!”

 

“Calm yourself Cedrinus!” Ruby snapped, then suddenly stopped himself, taking several deep breaths. “You can not afford to go hysterical in a situation like this! And if you want to find out how Gabena died, you need to trust Dr. Esprit. She’s a distinguished expert in her field, and possibly the only one in this pitiful school who can perform the autopsy.”

 

“Ruby is correct,” Rakutsu agreed, then turned to me with a sad smile with strangely bitter eyes that scared the fire away. “And I completely understand why you would think that, Trevor. She is not the most ethically-minded bird around, so I asked Professor Dorobo to come with her. She should be there by now, if you want to make sure.”

 

I sighed in relief, and nodded. Even though the professor may not be the best witness, she’s better than no one. “That’s a relief. In the meantime, we can investigate more of this situation.”

 

Rakutsu nodded, giving me a cheerful smile. “That’s the spirit. A blessing, it seems, for that wall to seal us all in and let us have an easier time to investigate this matter.” He sighed. “But also a curse, as it leaves all of us painful wondering if there’s a natural disaster or not, and if it is connected to the death and distribution of the only human of the school’s body parts.”

 

“We haven’t found anything so far either,” I sighed. “I wish that we knew…”

 

“But anyways, what are you doing around?” Ruby interrogated to Rakutsu.

 

“Investigating, on my own orders of course,” he answered with a confident smirk. “And to make sure all the pieces are not missing.”

 

“Of course, you’re playing detective,” Ruby muttered, rolling his eyes.

 

We are too, Ruby. No need to dismiss your brother like that when we’re doing the exact same thing.

 

“But what’s your opinion on all of this, Rakutsu?” I asked.

 

He thought for a moment. “Personally...I think the murder and the evacuation are almost certainly connected.”

 

“I’m inclined to agree,” Ruby concurred. “The headmaster’s refusal to explain our situation make me doubt his story entirely.”

 

I nodded too. “Yeah...it’s so unlike Mr. Oak to be vague about things. He often is straightforward.”

 

Rakutsu then looked at me in the eye, giving me a solemn gaze that was rather strange and somewhat scary to see. “Trevor...I know how you feel. You want to find the one who did this to Yvonne as soon as possible.”

  
I brought myself to make a small nod. “...Yes. I do.”

 

She was just gone for a moment...and now she’s turned into this. Who did that to her? I’ll find them, and I’ll–  

 

“I’ll find the culprit, and I’ll...I’ll…”

 

I can feel a savage flame lashing inside my stomach, spreading all over my body. It was like when I was angry at everyone being so normal...but more worse. I never felt this feeling before, and I should be scared of it, but it’s all I can feel right now. When I find that bird, I’ll–I’ll– 

 

“.....”

 

“My thoughts exactly,” Rakutsu agreed in a bitter tone, then sighed. “But you need to calm yourself, Trevor. Getting angry won’t do anything, with this school being a mess and your wants to chase after her shadow.”

 

I sighed, trying to calm myself and the flame inside, which worked somewhat. I still can feel its heat, but it certainly didn’t feel scary or uncomfortable. I need to focus on the situation on wing too...

 

“But anyways, it is best that we solve two mysteries at once, whenever it’s possible,” Rakutsu continued. “Of course, the wall could just be there because of a natural disaster.”

 

“Well thank you for stating the obvious, mongrel,” Ruby muttered. “Don’t know why we need you anyways. You’re just all talk and no fight.”

 

“Oh, I’m not done yet Ruby,” he said, then laughed. “You will need all the help you can get with this mystery. So I highly suggest for you to talk with Mr. M in the maintenance office. Tell him I sent you there.”

  
How would Mr. M help us…?

 

“I’m sorry Rakutsu, I know that you’re helping us, but how would the polite and quiet, yet suspicious and widely hated janitor help us?”

 

Rakutsu smiled reassuringly, though it didn’t work because I thought I saw a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Don’t worry. He’s a good guy. He’ll be able to help you, and you might find something useful there.”

  
I nodded. “Thank you, Rakutsu, for helping us. I promise that we will try to be a great help to you too.”

 

“You are welcome, Trevor and Ruby,” he replied, with a small bow.

 

“I never asked for your help,” Ruby grumbled.

 

He then turned to the door, spreading out his wings. “But anyways, I, the talky mongrel, must leave. Adieu!”

 

And with that, he flew out majestically.

 

“Thank goodness he’s gone,” Ruby sighed in relief. “He’s a very obnoxious bird. He could have been quite a beauty if he didn’t open his beak all the time.”

 

Really Ruby? After he gave us a tip to go to Mr. M, even though I don’t understand why?

 

“He gave us some good advice, Ruby,” I sighed. “We should be grateful. But anyways, it’s best that we leave here now. We won’t find anything else here probably.”

 

Ruby nodded, and we both started walking out to the hallway. “Agreed. Though where to go…?”

 

I don’t think we’ll find anything worthwhile from the wall, since it seems to stretch across the whole campus...it will take a long time for us to find anything. I’m not sure if the report is nearing to getting started, so perhaps Mr. M might have something.

 

“How about we go to the maintenance office? Let’s see what Mr. M has something to offer for us.”

 

He gave me questioning look. “In other words...the repairman’s shop? I doubt we would find anything there.”

 

We were literally just told to go there. Do you really hate your brother that much?

 

“Rakutsu advised us to go there...and he seems pretty honest about it.”

 

He scoffed, a strange sadness appearing in his eyes. “I doubt the integrity of his advice.”   
  


Really Ruby?

 

“That’s cruel of you to say about your own brother,” I said, trying to seem as polite and firm as possible. “You should be more kinder to him. He’s your family after all.”

 

Smoke suddenly poured out of his beak and into the air, his red eyes suddenly looking like fires from hell. “ _ My family!?  _ The filthy-blooded mongrel is of no relation to me! Not only tainted blood runs through his veins, the blood of a great noble stains his wings!”

 

What the fuck is talking about!? Is Rakutsu really a…

 

“Woah...calm down,” I said, waving my wings in a small vertical movement in hopes that it would blow away the smoke. “What do you mean?”

 

Ruby looked like he was about to tear up, but managed to make the smoke disappear and say coherently, “He took away Wally. Kuki Wally. My cousin.”

 

Wait wait wait...WALLY IS HIS  _ COUSIN!?  _ I don’t remember Wally talking about his cousin...though the topic of his family is one he doesn’t like talking about in general.

 

He sniffed. “We were best friends, but then...he had to move to Johto because he was invited to prestigious high school here. He transferred here when he graduated his first year...I heard that he associated himself with that mongrel. I never understand why he would associate himself with those lowlier than him...he vanished last December…” The smoke returned along with the fire within his eyes. “No doubt that it was because of that wretched Swanna. He’s probably dead, and no one knows where, all because of that foolish mongrel and his thoughtless actions.”

 

Hmmm...how to I comfort him? I may be friends with Wally, but nowhere near as close as Ruby was with him. And while I feel bad for Ruby about that, his elitism is unnecessarily and unfairly harsh with Rakutsu, so whatever I say might not seem genuine and he could pick that up.

 

“Oh...well...Wally was my friend too,” I started, remembering of the times he helped me with some major assignments. “He was a good bird. Very kind and relaxed. He helped me a lot in my first year.” I sighed. “It was hard accepting the fact that he was gone, even now at times...”

 

Ruby sighed wistfully, making the smoke and fires gone. He stayed silent for several moments, before saying with firm resolution, “But no matter. That’s all in the past. Right now, we should go to the maintenance office and see if there is actually something to offer. We can’t waste time.”

 

Well that was a rather quick mood change. But I guess Ruby is one of those kinds of birds.

 

“I think the maintenance office is in the corner of the main building, on the ground floor, right?”

* * *

 

After a rather awkward landing and the blissful or chosen ignorance of Ruby, we arrived at the door of the maintenance office. I knocked on it, and in few short moments, a small shiny Swellow was at the door, strangely wearing a brown bandana. 

 

“Hello, Mr. M,” I greeted with a polite smile.

 

“Hello young gentlebirds, but what are you two doing here?” He frowned worriedly. “Didn’t you hear the alarm?”

 

“My name is Cedrinus Trevor, and this is Petalburg Ruby,” I continued. “We got permission from our teacher to investigate the building.”

 

“Didn’t  _ you  _ hear the alarm?” Ruby interrogated with narrowed eyes.

 

He nodded. “No panic, no noise, no leaving here...that’s what I already do.”

 

This sounds so cool for some reason.

 

“Wow...you’re really calm about this…” I remarked, then smiled. ”It’s very impressive!”

 

“So...you’re just too lazy to go to the gymnasium,” Ruby concluded very bluntly. “And in no right to say that to us too.”

 

“Don’t worry about me,” he assured, a strange twinkle in his eyes. “I can take care of myself in here. You should go back to your class though.”

 

Before Ruby could say anything more, I added, “We were sent by Rakutsu to come here.”

 

Mr. M’s eyes suddenly lit up, but in what way, I didn’t know. “Rakutsu? Masayoshi Rakutsu?”

 

Ruby nodded, a slightly irritated expression on his face. “Yes, him. We decided to honor his request by coming all the way over here.” He then shot a glare at him. “I hope you don’t intend to stop us here now.”

 

I shot a glare at him. “Ruby! Be polite to Mr. M!”

 

Honestly I wish he didn’t live in Hoenn so I can make a good excuse for his rudeness right now.

 

“He certainly has a lot more bark than I imagine with bite,” Mr. M remarked, then smiled. “But come in.”

 

When he opened the door to let us in, I instantly felt calm in it. It was brightly lit, much in contrast with most of the school that we have seen so far. It was also set up in a very traditional and comfortably modest design, with wooden beams hanging on the ceiling and running through the walls and edges of the doors like thin and flat columns. Tatami cover the floors, with a chabudai that held some soda cans and snacks in the center, several zabutons surrounding it. There was a futon on both sides of the room, though one seems to be only used for actual sleeping. At the farther end of the room, there was a screen with drawings of various birds on branches that blocked most of the further half of the room for sight, leaving only behind the view of some cabinets and drawers.

 

“This...doesn’t look educational at all,” Ruby sniffed. “Rather disorganized, and not in the way of a repairman’s shop.”

 

“Mr. M basically lives here,” I pointed out. “Of course it would seem informal.”

 

“Ah yes, I do have to clean that up later,” the Swellow agreed, then settled himself on a zabutons, offering for us to kneel too. “But anyways, what are you two gentlebirds investigating about?”

 

Ruby sighed in annoyance, before answering, “Two things. The murder of Gabena Yvonne, 

and the mysterious wall outside.”

 

“You’ve been in here this whole time, right?” I asked. “Do you have an idea on what we’re talking about?”

 

He nodded. “Yes, Mr. Masayoshi gave me an idea before he had to leave for his infirmary duties.”

 

Ruby huffed. “So you only have an idea on what’s going on from that mongrel. Useless!”

 

Mr. M seemed to have a flash of irritation in his eye, before quickly returning to a calm one. “However, I know plenty about the school itself. My job is to take care of the entire campus.”

 

My hopes were lifted impossibly high. “So maybe you know what that gray wall is then?”

 

He opened his beak, before he closed it, suddenly looking confused, in the way that he knew something, but couldn’t remember it. He then shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have a good idea about it.”

 

“Useless wretch!” Ruby screamed.

 

“Ruby, calm down!” I cried, hoping my wings block him from actually attacking the poor bird. “We don’t need to maim him!”

 

“You don’t need to worry about that…” the Swellow said in a very ominous tone that almost made me set the mat on fire. “But I don’t think there will be anything new to learn in here…”

 

Oh wait! I just remembered I have my Holocaster with me! Maybe it might have something!

 

I turned it on and went onto the news app, but instead got a message that said there was no wifi or signal. Gods damn it!

 

“Unfortunately, much of the power’s been cut off this morning,” Mr. M sighed. “Even the telephone lines. There’s also an anti-telepathy and teleportation barrier put around the school too, for whatever reason. Even within the school, telepathy is only able to be transmitted to nearby people, and teleportation will only take them to a moderate distance away from the original location.”

 

“This sounds too thorough,” Ruby muttered. 

 

“Why would they cut off all of the communication systems if there’s a natural disaster out there?” I asked. 

 

Is there  _ really  _ a natural disaster out there? I mean, it makes sense that no one will be able to teleport outside of the dome if there is one, but at the same time...cutting off even telepathic messages?

 

“No matter,” Ruby groaned. “This a complete waste of time. Let us go, Cedrinus.”

 

“Wait, I have some advice before you leave,” Mr. M interrupted. 

 

I hope it’s something useful!

 

“Yes, sir?”

 

“If you get stuck, check out the headmaster’s office.” He sighed. “I unfortunately don’t have the key to it, but I know that it definitely has information on the wall.”

 

Ruby suddenly beamed. “Of course! The headmaster broadcasted the announcement in his office, so–”

 

“...he might still be there!”

 

How didn’t we think about this!? Asking Mr. Oak ourselves might get us a good answer! After all, he might be forced to withhold information to prevent panic!

 

“If you need a break, you can come back here later, and rest.” He then flew off into the back, then came out with a notebook. “You will need this. In a situation like this, it is critical that you have all the information right there, in the event that something unexpected happens. Good luck, and may the gods be with you.”

 

I took the notebook, and put it in my bag. “Thank you, Mr. M!”

 

Now we have a main base of sorts! Though now, we should go to the lab. I want to make sure Y is all right. Then maybe we can see if the wall has anything, and then the headmaster’s office.

* * *

 

“Oh hello, Cedrinus and Petalburg!” Professor Dorobo greeted us.

 

“Hello, professor,” I greeted back, trying to muster up a smile as I entered the chemistry lab. Gods, it’s so much worse after spending some time in Mr. M’s office. It was one of the gloomier parts of the school before, but now, with a few lights on, it’s just downright depressing.

 

“Thank you, professor, for being with Y now,” I said after she closed the door.

 

She nodded and sighed sadly. “Of course. Masayoshi came and asked me to come right after you two left the gym.”

 

“How unfortunate, he seemed to have gone past us,” Ruby sighed.

 

I turned back to a lab bench, seeing the doctor lining up all the pieces. I know she wouldn’t try to pull off something horrible with three witnesses, but I wouldn’t put it past her...she is strangely audacious regarding her crimes.

 

“Can you stop glaring at me, Mr. Cedrinus?” the doctor sighed. “It’s hard to focus with your eyes on me like that.”

 

I tried to keep normal eye contact with her. “I’m not glowering at you, doctor.”

 

“Is there anything wrong with how I am handling her?” she questioned, though I thought I saw a rather unnerving glint in her eye.

 

“No, that’s not it…”

 

It’s just that I wish we didn’t have a demon like you as our doctor.

 

“Have you found anything yet, Dr. Esprit?” Ruby asked in a tone so gentle and polite, I thought he gone insane for a moment.

 

“No, I only just finished assembling her,” she answered. “It will take a while, but don’t worry, I’ll tell you when I’m done. In the meantime, you should do something else.”

 

Ruby nodded, a faint smile on his face. “That is understandable. We will not interfere. Let us go, Cedrinus.”

 

“Okay Ruby.” 

 

What the fuck did I just watched?

 

We both then started leaving and heading out to the wall, until the doctor said, “Mr. Cedrinus, a moment please.”

 

What do you want, you demon?

 

“Yes ma’am?”

 

She smiled, though not a fake one that she often wore to seem like she was normal. It was a genuine one, which made her even more terrifying than it really should. “I have some help for you in your investigation. Of course, you suspect me of foul play, so I’ll let you decide if you want to believe me or not.”

 

What kind of demon tells someone the truth?

 

“I think you may have forgotten something,” she continued. “Perhaps you should keep that in mind? Though I think if you look hard enough, you will find your answer.”

 

I can’t tell if this is a red herring or not…

 

“Thanks,” I said as loudly and kindly as could, without any fire showing.

 

“You’re welcome.” Her smile then became gentler, almost motherly, unnatural to think in regards of her. “And congratulations, Cedrinus Trevor, on evolving. I know that it might not be the reward to hard work, but it still is something worth celebrating for. After all, it’s a change where one becomes stronger in body, spirit, and mind, and your own spirit has grown strong in the light of what has happened to Ms. Gabena.”

 

Of course she would bring that up.

 

“...Thank you.”

 

She sighed, her smile becoming nostalgic and longing, looking like she almost wanted to cry. “You look so much like him right now, with your iron will and resolution...I’m sure if he was here, he will be so proud...”

 

Who’s ‘he’? And why do I feel...a little sad for her?

 

The tears and smile vanished, and her fake calm smile returned. “But anyways, you should go investigate outside of here. I’ll take care of Ms. Gabena. Good luck, Mr. Cedrinus.”

 

“...Thank you. And good luck to you too, Dr. Esprit.”

 

I then left to the dim hallway, following after an annoyed but quiet Ruby. I don’t know what she’s up to...but I definitely don’t like it. What did she mean when she said I’m missing something? Or is she just leading me away from the truth? It’s better if I don’t think about it until later…

* * *

 

“So what were you talking about to Cedrinus, doctor?” Faitsu asked, seating herself down in a chair near the lab bench.

 

Emma looked up from the body she was examining. “Nothing much. Giving him a little emotional support and encouragement.”

 

The Mandibuzz beamed. “That’s good! I’m certain he needs it at this time.” She sighed, glancing over at the body of what was her student, then back to the Honchkrow. “I don’t know if he will hold up well with all of this...bringing himself to investigate on this matter while sealed off from the outside with no proper explanation, having to get used to a new body, and grieving over a friend he knew since he was just a few weeks old...I don’t think many birds can last that long if they were in his place, and I hope he’s an exception to that. He really loves her, does he?”

 

Emma nodded absentmindedly, already returning her focus on the body. “Yes, his dedication is rather admirable.”

 

“Good! I see you can respect that so!” 

 

Emma suddenly felt a chill in her spine, when she heard her say, “I’m sure you will remember to not cause any harm to my students, doctor.”

* * *

 

When we were outside, the gray dome remained, blocking out the morning sky.

 

“Well...I suppose we’ll have to fly over campus for a closer look to it,” I said.

 

Ruby nodded. “Indeed. Don’t put too much strain on yourselves for this though, Cedrinus.”

  
I nodded, and we both flew up, Ruby in a swift and elegant way and me, in a clumsy and anxious one. While I tried to keep myself still in the air, Ruby stared at the wall.

 

“Hmmm...this might be a special kind of steel,” he muttered. “Quite firm at any rate.”

 

“It probably might be some kind of shelter?” I asked, though we both knew it isn’t true. What kind of shelter would block telepathic messages to the outside? Though perhaps my Holocaster could work now we’re near here…

 

I opened my bag and pulled it out, looping the string around my neck. I then pecked on the call function as hard and fast as I could, then on Mother’s number. The message of no signal popped up instead.

 

“Out of range even here...is this shelter blocking the signal?”

 

“Your guess is as good as mine, Cedrinus,” Ruby sighed. “But it seems the most likely.”

 

He then pecked on the wall rapidly and firmly several times, then said, “It sounds thick and dense.”

 

He then took a deep breath, and a stream of fire flew out of his beak. The stream of flames went on for what probably might be half a minute, before stopping to reveal only a black spot. When I touched it and the other unburned spots, there was no difference.

 

“Augh!” he coughed.

 

“I have some water in my bag if you want it.”

 

He continued coughing for a few more moments, until he croaked, “Trying to break a hole is impractical...let’s go down. I will take the water.”

 

We flew back down and I gave him my canteen, letting him waterfall it. 

 

“I wonder if there is an emergency exit in the wall…” I murmured.

 

Ruby stopped to nod. “You are correct. We don’t know if we are completely sealed in or not.”

 

“We should fly around the perimeter for that once you’re done drinking.”

 

He closed the cap and handed it to me. “I’m already done. We should proceed now.”

 

And with that, he flew off to the left in an elegant and swift manner, leaving me to run over to the right side.

* * *

 

Oh gods...that was tiring to do...I wonder if we had spent two hours doing that…

 

“I did not find a single door,” Ruby said, stretching his wings. “Did you?”

 

I shook my head.

 

He sighed. “Identical all the way around. I do hope that this dome is ventilated. It’s one thing to suffocate under this, but it’s another if there is no known reason for its presence.”

 

“There...should...be...an...airflow…” I panted.

 

I don’t really want to think about dying slowly in here...but if there isn’t...we are royally fucked.

 

“If you need water, you should drink it now, Cedrinus,” Ruby advised, then looked up. “Hrrm…”

 

I nodded, taking out the canteen and drinking some water, before closing the cap. “What are you looking at?”

 

He pointed up. “Up there. I think it might be a hatchway…”

 

I looked up, and saw a dark colored square about 20 meters off the ground. So we spent what was probably two hours for nothing!? Gods damn it! But at least we found a possible exit…

 

“Maybe an exit? Let’s get a closer look…”

 

We flew up, and for some reason, we found no latch or switch. Maybe it’s nearby somewhere…?

 

“I wonder if we can open it by pushing against it…”

 

“Doubtful, considering its material,” Ruby sighed. “I do not see any other method of opening it, so let us remember its location and return later.”

 

I nodded. “I don’t think it’s possible and I rather not think about it, but if there really is a terrible natural disaster out there...it’s probably better if that was kept shut.”

 

Ruby nodded. “Indeed...now, we must move on.”

 

We then flew down and back to the building, leaving me alone with my thoughts. We still don’t know anything about the outside, and I’ve got enough in my mind with Y...I don’t even know if Mother will be all right out there. But she’s still a strong bird...she might be fine on her own.

“I suppose we have finished the first stage of our investigation,” Ruby remarked, as we walked to Mr. M’s office.

 

“Yeah, I guessed…” I sighed. “We understand a little more of the situation…”

 

The doctor’s in the lab with Ms. Dorobo, the gray dome covers the entire school but for one hatch, and the maintenance office is our base. Not a lot, but better than nothing. But now, the headmaster’s office…

 

“Mr. M said we should–”

 

“...leave to the headmaster’s office,” Ruby finished. 

 

I nodded. “Yeah...it’s on the first floor. Let’s go now.”

* * *

 

I knocked on the door. “Mr. Oak! Sir! We need you!”

 

“Are you within!?” Ruby screamed, beating on the door. “I demand entry!”

 

He’s still rude to the headmaster? Is the doctor literally the only bird in this school that he actually respects? What kind of priorities does this bird have?

 

“Be polite Ruby,” I scolded. “He’s the headmaster and a good bird.”

 

“No reply, let’s go in,” Ruby declared.

 

Before I could stop him, he pushed down the door knob. Instead of opening, it only produced a locked noise. At least Mr. Oak didn’t get a chance of being maimed...

 

“Well, I guess–”

 

“We break it down then,” Ruby continued, then took a deep breath.

 

“nO!” I screamed, holding him back by the shoulders. “It’s the door to the headmaster’s! It’s probably made of Pokemon move resistant stuff!”

  
He sighed, narrowing his eyes at the door. “What is that old geezer up to?”

 

Isn’t Mr. Oak like 40-something? But yeah, why is he not responding at all? He would have slammed the door open now and gave Ruby a lecture on respect. However, I wouldn’t past it off as impossible for him to just not want to deal with us right now…

 

“Maybe he’s pretending that he isn’t inside so we go away?”

 

But that doesn’t make sense...Mr. Oak isn’t a cowardly bird. He would have let us in by now.

 

Ruby nodded. “Plausible. I haven’t seen him outside walking much...or perhaps he plans to lock himself up from the inside and plan to stay in there until the siege is over.”

 

That definitely doesn’t sound like him…

 

“We could just wait...there are no other means to come in.”

 

“Or we could ask Dorobo if she can get a key to open from the outside,” Ruby suggested. “There has to be a spare somewhere on this campus. Quicker to do than sitting around like lazy Farfetch’d.”

 

I nodded. “Yeah, that is–”

 

_ Phrrrrr….Creeeaakkk! _

 

What the hell!?

 

“Did you hear that?” I whispered to Ruby.

 

He looked at me questioningly. “Hear what? I heard nothing. I think you are imagining things, Cedrinus.”

 

I shook my head. “No! I can hear this creaking noise, and something metallic being dragged on the floor!”

  
_ Phrrrrrr….Creeeeaaaak! _

 

“Did you hear it!? It’s coming from behind–”

 

“Hh….hhh…ahhh...”

 

“US!”

 

Behind us was a towering a gigantic, metallic scarecrow-like creature, covered in rags, and with a burlap sack as its head.

* * *

 

_ First class end. _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Ruby here's actually nicer than Sakuya, who literally yells at Ryouta for grieving over his childhood friend. (As you can see, I am extremely mad about that and how it's one of the most popular ships on the English speaking side of the HB fan)


	5. Second Class

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RUN!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcVwmhfQxHk  
> This Strange Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMHi6KqsG6E  
> In the Gym: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md-XV1gOEcw  
> Rakutsu’s theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRklcA_hAL4

_ Second class start. _

* * *

“Wh...WHAT IN–”

 

The scarecrow-man creeps closer, dragging its long, ungainly metallic arm behind it. It suddenly raised the arm, and swung.

 

“RUBY, LOOK OUT!”

 

We both jumped backwards, watching that arm land into a window. Glass shattered and scatter the hallway floor. OH GODS, IT’S NOT FRIENDLY!

 

Ruby then went into a battle stance, but I pushed him out of it and grabbed his wing. “Ruby, we gotta run!”

 

He glared at me. “A Petalburg–”

 

“We’re not trained soldiers or battlers Ruby! We have to run! That thing is probably made of something that makes it resistant to Pokemon moves, and I rather have both of our bones intact!”

 

Ruby paused for a moment, before nodding, and we took off.

* * *

 

“Pant….pant…”

 

Ruby looked down the staircase, slightly shaking. “Did we...lose it?”

 

I looked down too, feeling alert yet exhausted. Nothing but a few lights and doors. “I think so...a good thing that it moves so slowly.”

 

“What WAS it?” Ruby cried. “I doubt that it would be some kind of bizarre prank! No one would make a prank like that!”

 

I tried to take several deep breaths and gather my thoughts. “It was a biped...a humanoid...but I doubt it’s actually a human.”

 

“I do not think humans are made of burlap and metal,” Ruby muttered, then growled in rage. “First a murder, the dome, and now this! I do not know who is behind all of this morbid foolishness but they must have a death wish if they provoke me so!”

 

I think whoever caused all of this warrants death from anyone right now.

 

“We should go back to the lab! The professor needs to know about this!”

 

Ruby nodded. “Agreed! Let’s hope that... _ thing _ doesn’t follow after us!”

* * *

 

“Welcome back Cedrinus, Petalburg! Would you mind some tea?” the professor greeted.

 

“It’s not the time!” I cried. 

 

“We can not afford to relax right now, professor!” Ruby added. 

 

Her eyes widened. “What happened?”

 

Oh gods, I feel really out of focus and tired…

 

“Uhhh…the headmaster! He must’ve been hiding from the scarecrow–it smashed a window!”

 

“Calm down, Cedrinus!” Ruby scolded. “She will not understand you!”

 

I took several deep breaths. “A-ah...sorry…”

 

“Anyways, while we were at the headmaster’s office, a gigantic creature attack us,” Ruby explained. “It was very bizarre, resembling a scarecrow in appearance.”

 

The professor looked at both of us, confused and mortified. “A scarecrow…?”

 

I nodded. “Yeah, like the ones humans used to make to protect their crops. It attacked us, and we ran back here.” I felt a chill going through my spine. “It was slow, but its arm is very long and large, yet heavy and dangerous. ”

 

“Are the other students still in the gymnasium?” Ruby asked.

 

The professor seemed to have come to that distressing realization when he said that, then shook her head. “I don’t think all of them are…”

 

I tried to not burst in flames. “Oh shit.”

 

“It’s all right, I can tell the other teachers about this,” she assured, surprisingly very confident when her only means of communication is flying out there and risking the scarecrow. “It’s not an issue.”

 

“T-thank you ma’am,” I replied.

 

“The plot thickens, it seems,” Ruby dryly remarked. “Not only we are trapped under this detestable dome, but now we have to contend to this new monstrous guest roaming our halls.”

 

“I wonder what is the scarecrow’s man connection to all of this…” I murmured.

 

“A scarecrow man?” 

 

I jumped, almost setting something on fire, then turned around to see a fascinated doctor. 

 

“D-doctor!”

 

“I wonder what that scarecrow is like,” she mused, though she doesn’t seem all that curious or surprised about it, for some suspicious reason. “I would love to get my wings on it and study its functions.”

 

No need to lie doctor, you could just way that you have something to do with it. There’s no other reason why there would be something like this show up now, when almost all of this school is sealed off. But you love lies as much as you love blood and your own insanity, so I guess that’s understandable for you to not admit it.

 

“Is the autopsy done yet, doctor?” Ruby asked, once again in a very unusual, very un-Ruby like, manner.

 

She nodded. “Yes, for now.”

 

“I was awake the whole time, don’t worry,” the professor piped in.   
  


“Thank you, professor,” I said to her with a smile.

 

“But anyways, I’ll give you the results, as you deserve to know as the investigators of this situation,” she announced, with an obviously fake cheerful smile. “To put it briefly, from what I have examined from what was Ms. Gabena and with the tools I have, it seemed that she had died from asphyxiation. However, there were no signs of smothering or strangulation, so she must have been poisoned or sick.”

 

“Impossible!” I cried. “She can’t have been sick that quickly! She’s a very healthy girl! One of the healthiest people I know even!”

 

“Control yourself, Cedrinus,” Ruby warned, giving me a stern glare. “We can not afford to turn against each other in a time like this.”

 

“...I know.”

 

“If she wasn’t sick, then she could have been poisoned,” Esprit pointed out, looking slightly irritated. “But anyway, it seems that Ms. Gabena has been dismembered after death. There is little evidence of bleeding, so she must have been cut up after death.”

 

“But...why?”

 

Even though she was a human...no one would disgrace anyone like that.

 

“For the sake of the grotesque, or make her easier to carry, or for some other reason…” Ruby reasoned, eyes narrowed in disgust. “Revolting, either way.”

 

She nodded. “Indeed. But continuing on, I estimate, though I am not completely sure, that Ms. Gabena died yesterday, after school.”

 

“The evening, then,” Ruby said.

 

“Precisely,” she replied. “And she was found this morning.”

 

“In other words...unless she was seen yesterday afternoon, she may have been here all along,” Ruby concluded, then turned to me. “Cedrinus, your house is near hers, correct? Did you see her yesterday?”

 

“After school? Ummm…”

 

…..

 

I shook my head. “No, I didn’t. My mother asked me to come straight home to run some errands, so I went straight home.”

 

Yes, I went home alone. Even though it’s too late, I still wish I had asked her to come home with me...

 

Ruby nodded, evidently disappointed at my answer. “Hmmm...I see. We’ll ask other students whom she was close if they saw her.”

 

“You’re going out there again?” Ms. Dorobo called. “Please be careful, you two.”

 

“It’s fine, professor,” I assured, giving her a smile. “We can just run away from it if it shows up again.”

 

“And regarding about Ms. Gabena...I saw her yesterday, as she was looking for you and asked me where you were,” she continued. “I told her to go to the infirmary, and she left to there, I presume. I left to go back home after that.”

 

The doctor gave her a questioning look. “You did? I never saw her at all, and I was in the infirmary the whole afternoon until I left for home.”

 

This is weird...the professor claims to have seen Y and told her to go to the infirmary to look for me, but the doctor said she hadn’t seen her at all. Why did the professor tell her to go to the infirmary when I was never there at all? And why did the doctor deny of ever seeing her? Something’s wrong…

 

Wait, I have to ask her for the headmaster’s key! 

 

“Professor, can I ask you for a favor?”

  
“Hm? What is it?”

 

“The headmaster’s office was locked...we think he might be hiding in there…” I started. “The custodian apparently doesn’t have a key to it, so can you get a spare for us?”

 

She thought for a moment. “Yes, we do have a spare key, though only the deputy headmaster has it. I’ll ask for it later.”

 

Oh thank the gods! I can practically feel myself warm with delight!

 

“Thank you ma’am! We’ll be back soon!”

 

“Please be careful!” she called, as we flew out the door.

 

“You too ma’am!” I called back.

* * *

 

Faitsu watched as her two young brave students flew out the door. Those students make her so proud, yet so worried at the same time. Petalburg Ruby was never particularly the generous or considerate one, given his sheltered and horribly toxic upbringing under the wings of General Petalburg Norman of Hoenn, and Cedrinus Trevor had seen the decapitated head of his dearest childhood friend just a few hours ago. Though that would certainly explain it...although it leaves even more questions.

 

“Cedrinus is a strange boy, isn’t he?” she remarked.

 

“What do you mean, Ms. Dorobo?” Emma asked.

 

“Why would he lie about going straight home?”

* * *

 

“As we have to unfortunately wait for the key to the headmaster’s office, where do you suggest for us to go, Cedrinus?” Ruby asked.

 

I nodded. “Yeah...we should ask everybirdie where they were yesterday. We know that the professor did see her and told her to go to the infirmary, under the assumption I was there...but the doctor claims that she was in the infirmary all afternoon until she went back home, never seeing her. What a confusing contradiction….”

 

Ruby nodded. “Indeed.”

 

The savage flame returned, burning any shred of exhaustion within me as it spread its terrifying heat all over my body. “I think the doctor has something to do with this.”

 

“Calm yourself Cedrinus,” Ruby reminded, giving me a stern gaze. “In such a situation like this, you can not afford to bias yourself with baseless suspicions.”

 

The savage flame quelled, for a bit. “I know...but there’s just...something wrong. And I think you trust her way too easily, Ruby. While she might be an expert in her field and helped us with the autopsy, it doesn’t mean she’s honest.”

 

The calm blood crimson eyes instantly turned into fires from hell. “You know nothing of what you say. The head of the Petalburg family, my father, was once crippled with chronic illness. He would have died if it weren’t for the medicine made by Dr. Esprit.”

 

I’m kind of surprised that she makes medicine, though it’s drowned out by the sea of disappointment at Ruby’s immeasurable dumbassery. Gods, I wish I can just set myself on fire and let it kill me right now.

 

“Just because she makes medicine that saved people’s lives, doesn’t mean she’s above of taking others’.” I tried to not think of all the students who had faced their early death by her steeled wing. “No one is a complete saint.”

 

“Save the sleep talk for your dreams!” he snapped, the growing fires in his eyes making him even more terrifying, but it had no effect as he really is just a blind newborn Swablu in a juvenile Altaria’s body. “Do you not have any idea of what contributions she made to the medical world!?”

 

“I admit I do not,” I started, thinking on how strange it was for me to not know someone of such importance, given my interest in science. “But I know that while she certainly isn’t just a mad scientist who thrived from the misery and death of others I heard and thought as her, I know she is also completely capable of…”

 

Just say it Trevor. It’s not going to hurt you. Just say it. 

 

“...giving life and happiness.”

 

Dear Xerneas that was hard to say. Thank you for giving me the strength to say that.

 

Ruby simply huffed, the fires quelling. “You have become biased from the foolish rumors of the peasantry. You should reconsider your own opinions. But in any case, the Petalburg family is indebted to her. A noblebird and an honorable warrior will never treat a benefactor with disrespect.” 

 

Though all of this does make sense on why he’s completely and utterly polite to her. However, considering on how much of a shithead his father seems like...

 

“You know, you really shouldn’t talk yourself Ruby,” I pointed out. “You are just as biased as everyone here is in regards of Emma, arguably even more than  _ they are _ . And they lost their friends most likely to her. You clearly didn’t take it well when I said that she’s capable of doing good and evil.”

 

Though I still kind of don’t believe that myself…

 

The fires in his eyes flared back to life, but it quickly calmed as soon as it came. “I find no reason to waste my breath trying to convince you out of your peasant-like ways. I’ll let you be in your delusions, where it will certainly be ruined by time.”

 

Congratulations, you lost because you decided passive aggressiveness was a better response than reconsidering your own beliefs. 

 

“But anyway, we should continue to the gym, where that insufferable Shiro is.” He huffed. “A coward he is, refusing to uncover the circumstances of his supposed friend’s death. But he can prove to himself useful with whatever information he has, though I doubt it would be much.”

 

I can’t exactly blame him Ruby...his friend just died. Better to have some personal time to grieve, something I can’t afford for myself. And besides, any information on Y is good information.

* * *

 

Gods, being in the gym right now is extremely uncomfortable and tiring. Whispers filled the room, spreading restlessness and unease everywhere. But I can’t blame them either. Shut up with no explanation and now a dangerous thing wandering on the campus will certainly make worried birds, sooner or later.

 

“Black! Black, where are you!?” I cried.

 

“Here!” he called back.

 

I turned around, and saw him walk out of the crowd that was our class, giving us a relieved yet sad smile. “It’s good to see you two are still alive. What do you need, Trevor and Ruby?”

 

“We have a question for you,” I started.

 

The sadness vanished, replaced by interest. “Oh?”

 

“You practiced at school yesterday, like you usually do, right?”

 

He nodded. “It’s my duty as the track captain.”

 

“Did you see Y while you were out yesterday?” 

 

The sadness returned, and he shook his head. “No, sadly. I didn’t see her while practicing or leaving for home. I wished that I came to ask her to practice with me, or at least, talked with her.”

 

Damn it.

 

“Can we really be sure that he would have noticed her, even if she had been there while he was running?” Ruby questioned.

 

I wouldn’t exactly underestimate Black Ruby...he is extremely intelligent, and a good friend of Y. I’m certain he would have saw her. But what you say is also plausible...

 

“Don’t underestimate my visual memory!” Black suddenly snapped, seething in rage. “And I just realized I lost my close friend a few hours ago, and you think I wouldn’t take it _seriously_!? I’m not just some idiotic mongrel that you see me as Ruby! If I had saw Y out there, I would have said it! And now, I wish and I wish that I had talked with her yesterday, but I know it changes nothing! Because she’s dead…” He sniffed, wiping away some tears. “She’s dead...and she isn’t coming back, no matter how much I think that she’s still here...”

 

I put a wing on Black’s shoulder, rubbing it gently. “I know Black….I know….”

 

I really wish I can cry right now too...but figuring out who did all of this is more important. 

 

We stayed in silence for several more moments, before Ruby let out a sigh, of what I do not know. He then asked softly, “Did you see anything out of ordinary yesterday, then?”

 

Black thought for a moment, before nodding. “Yes...while I was going out to the track, a panicking Togekiss with a pool stick ran up to me. He called me ‘Zeshiro’, and asked me if I saw Edel Blau, who is apparently Y. When I told him no and asked why he needed to know, he ran to the infirmary, screaming that he will rescue her. He also called her his love and other pet names.”

  
“What!?” both of us cried.

 

A Togekiss!? He must know something about Y and her death! 

 

“What’s his name!?” I asked, grabbing Black by his neck feathers.

 

“Woah...calm down Trevor,” he said, pushing me away gently. “I don’t think I ever saw that Togekiss before yesterday. I do remember him having golden eyes and a necklace that had Arceus’ wheel though....”

 

How does he not know that Togekiss!? A Togekiss is a huge sore wing in a crowd! Unless he was a trespasser...

 

“Well, it seems this unknown Togekiss is a bird that we need to find and interrogate,” Ruby declared. 

 

I smiled to Black. “Thank you for help, Black.”

 

He nodded, giving me a small smile. “You’re welcome Trevor. Good luck with your investigation!”

 

“Thank you!”

 

When we were near the exit, I said, “I think it’s better that we report on all we know to Mr. M before we go look for the Togekiss. We don’t know if we’ll find him or not.”

 

Ruby nodded. “Quite reasonable. A lazy repairman is worth going to than a wild goose chase.”

 

Rudely put, but he is right. We don’t even know if we will get anything out of it.

 

And with that, we returned to the office.

* * *

 

“Hello, Mr. Cedrinus, Mr. Petalburg,” Mr. M greeted, opening the door for us. “How is your investigation going?”

 

“We first went to the headmaster’s office, as you suggested,” Ruby started as we both entered. “But unfortunately, it was locked.”

 

I nodded. “Yeah, and what’s worse, we got attacked by some kind of scarecrow thing! It was made of metal and covered in burlap! It had this huge long metal arm that could break someone’s wing!”

 

The realization that we found it was nearby here hit me, and I began to feel the heat of fear. “I’m glad that you are okay, it wasn’t far–”

 

“Oh? Is it the same muddy scarecrow-like man that I’m thinking about?”

 

I looked over to the screen covered part of the room, and see Rakutsu coming out from it, a relaxed smile on his face.

 

I felt a smile coming on my face. “Rakutsu! Hello!”

 

“So, you’ve seen it too,” Ruby simply said.

 

He nodded. “Just now, yeah. Saw it on the second floor.” He sighed mournfully. “I only caught a glimpse from it behind at the other end of the corridor, and didn’t stick around to let it see me, so alas, I wasn’t blessed to see its pretty face.”

 

“Coward,” Ruby growled.

  
Ruby, you fucking– 

 

“We ran away the moment we saw it too, Ruby,” I pointed out. “And besides, it’s not cowardice, it’s the first rule of self-defense.”

 

He huffed. “The blood of warriors flows in my veins, I would have destroyed that thing in a matter of moments. Leaving you alone to flee would be unwise regarding your current state, so that’s why I had complied with you in the first place.”

 

Yes, using your own distrust in me to defend yourself from your own fucking hypocrisy. Now  _ that’s  _ cowardice.

 

I then turned to Mr. M, the image of the scarecrow with its heavy arm engraved in my mind. “Anyway, wandering around in the building is dangerous now...I think it would be better for you to leave, Mr. M.”

 

He smiled reassuringly, “Don’t worry, little one. My duty prevents me from leaving this room. Besides, I got everything I need here. I’ll be fine.” His gaze then turned stern. “Though I do hope you two won’t call off the investigation because of some dusty old scarecrow.”

 

Oh gods no! We’ve scratched enough of the surface, we need to dig deeper even more!

 

I shook my head. “Of course not. I want to get to the bottom of this mystery! I’m not quitting because of some scarecrow!”

 

“Hmph, already stuck in the rut of unadaptable middle age?” Ruby muttered loudly. “Don’t come crying to us when you get hurt.”

 

Oh gods, I can’t believe they accepted a 45 year old as a second year student here.

 

Suddenly, Rakutsu and Mr. M laughed, a mysterious twinkle in their eyes. “Don’t worry, Mr. Petalburg. I’ve come within touching distance of death in the past.”

 

I wonder what kind of death comes close to a janitor? But then again, we have a semi-feral batshit insane doctor running around and students that go missing every once in a while. The custodian almost getting killed isn’t too much of a stretch in this school.

 

“Well then, what are you standing around here for?” Ruby asked, giving a pointed look at Rakutsu. “I believe orders were given for everyone to gather together in the gymnasium to avoid the scarecrow.”

 

“Same goes to you,” Rakutsu replied, returning the pointed look. “Why haven’t you headed over there yet?”

 

“Erp.”

 

Ruby seemed to have been stunned silence by his own hypocrisy. Another talent of Rakutsu it seems.

 

“Just like you, Rakutsu.” I sighed, trying to not think of that bloody box. “I can’t just...sit around. Y’s my friend...and what they did to her was…”

 

The savage flame returned, spreading its scary heat throughout my body.

 

“...was horrible, it was disgusting, it was unspeakable, and I want to find out why they did that.”

 

And I want to make them  _ pay. _

 

Rakutsu nodded solemnly. “Indeed...hence why the walking around the school.” He then went over to the door, spreading his wings. “But, I must depart to the lab. Professor Dorobo wanted me there.”

 

“What for?” I asked, the flame fading away.

 

“Something you asked for her to do,” he answered.

 

Oh.

 

“Ah, he wants you to keep an eye on Dr. Esprit,” Ruby concluded, a hint of contempt in his voice.

 

Rakutsu nodded. “Most likely, yes. The doctor and Yvonne, that is.” He then smiled. “But anyway, you two can go on your investigation. I’ll watch over her, don’t worry.”

 

I can feel myself feeling normal now, flooded with gratitude for Rakutsu. “Thank you, Rakutsu.”

 

As he was about to take off, I then remembered about the doctor’s strange alibi. “Oh, Rakutsu! I have a question!”

 

He stopped, turning to me. “Hm?”

 

“The autopsy said that Y died yesterday, after school. The professor said that she went to the infirmary after class, but the doctor said that she had been in the infirmary all day, and never saw Y. Were you there with the doctor, and did you saw her?”

 

He nodded. “Yes, I was inspecting and cleaning up the place for much of the afternoon before I left for home, so I can verify the doctor’s alibi.” He sighed. “However, we never saw Yvonne at all.”

 

I can feel Ruby’s disapproving gaze on me right now. “I told you to not doubt her without evidence, Cedrinus.”

 

“Yeah…” I replied.

 

“That’s everything?” Rakutsu questioned, then gave us a relaxed smile. “Well, adieu!”

 

And with that, he flew off, leaving behind some white feathers and doubts. While this does confirm that the doctor was in the infirmary the whole time, this also just muddles the situation even further. Even Rakutsu didn’t see her? They might be working together on this…though that will have to wait for later. That golden eyed Togekiss is the one we need to ask right now. I don’t know if he caused all of this or is on our side, but either way, we need him.

 

“I suppose that now we can explain to you on what we found so far,” Ruby started.

 

Oh right! We went here for that! And I have to write all of that down too!

 

He nodded, excited at his words. “Oh? Do tell me more!”

 

Ruby then gave him a brief summary of what we find, while I quickly jotted it down on our notes. When Ruby was done, Mr. M said, with a very strange twinkle in his eye, “Now that you have both the doctor’s and Mr. Masayoshi’s alibis verified, are you going to find that Togekiss?”

* * *

  
“It seems we have no other choice,” Ruby replied. “We could go back to the lab, but I doubt that Dorobo would have our key by now.”

 

Yeah...even though I haven’t seen her fell asleep  _ once  _ today _ , _ she still might have done it. And there’s the fact that the deputy headmaster is also hiding, or the key is that well protected.

 

“Well, I think that Togekiss will only show up if they want to,” Mr. M continued, clearly trying to suppress a small smirk. “However, you might get lucky and find him.”

 

I don’t know why he would say that and clearly trying to hide his smile, but it makes sense. Though I feel uneasy about our chances….but we might find something worthwhile.

 

“Yeah, it’s best we should go now.” I turned on the Holo Caster, seeing it’s noon. “We can’t waste time.”

 

“Good luck, be careful, and may the gods be with you,” Mr. M called, as we flew out the door and into the dark and dangerous hallway.

* * *

We flew and searched through every corner of the school for what seemed to be a nerve-wracking eternity. The gods must be feeling merciful, for we haven’t seen the scarecrow at all and I had finally learned how to fly without tiring myself, but we found nothing of note either. 

 

“So where do we go now?” I asked, as we walked down the dim hallway, quiet except for the pounding of our hearts and our breathing.

 

“Hmm...I believe Dorobo have gotten us the key by now,” Ruby replied. “We should return to the lab.”

 

Oh yeah. That’s right.

 

“Yeah.”

 

We then started our way back to the lab, when I heard...something. It was quiet...but I think I heard something.

 

“Did you say something?” I asked to Ruby.

  
“I did not,” he answered, then suddenly turned back to behind us. “Is it that despicable scarecrow again!?”

 

I shook my head. “No, it’s not him, but I thought I heard somebirdie say...something.”

 

“Don’t scare me like that!” he hissed, but suddenly sighed. “Though I can’t blame you for that. We’ve been walking around for some time now, it wouldn’t be a surprise if your mind starts playing tricks on you.”

 

I turned to where the voice came from. The library. Maybe somebirdie’s still in there?

 

“Hey Ruby...can I check the library? I want to see if anyone’s in here, in case they didn’t hear the alarm.”

  
“Very well, Cedrinus,” he answered, and we both went in. Gee...it’s so dark and depressing in here. It was always the gloomiest part of the school, nearly isolated from the rest of it and always empty and cold, but now, with the dome up and the lights dimmed…

 

But we better check whoever’s in here first. No time to waste. 

 

We then searched through the room from nook to cranny, but we found nobirdie. I swear that I heard something from here…

 

“I guess there is no one here,” I sighed.

 

Ruby nodded. “Keep yourself calm and focused on the goal, Cedrinus. You can’t afford to lose your sanity in a time like this.”

 

He’s right…

 

“I’m sorry, Ruby,” I apologized. “We should go back to the lab now.”

 

“Indeed.”

* * *

 

……

 

“Something...something bad happened. I should have seen this...I should have known what would happen after that...if it hadn’t been for me, none of this wouldn’t have happened at all.”

 

……

 

“What was I trying to do here? What did I see? ….Why can’t I remember…?”

 

……

 

…...!

 

“I can’t hear...what are you saying? You’re fading away...it’s too far. Ms. Gabena…!”

* * *

 

“Hello Ms. Dorobo!” I greeted to her when she opened the door.

 

“Welcome back Cedrinus,” she greeted, letting us in. “Did you find anything interesting yet?”

 

“All we know is that there is a golden eyed Togekiss who might be aware of Gabena’s fate,” Ruby answered. “But anyway, we should talk to the headmaster first. Have you gotten the key?”

 

She opened up her wing, revealing the key. “It’s right here.”

 

Relief flooded all over me, and I felt a smile come up. “Oh thank you professor!”

 

She smiled. “You’re welcome, Cedrinus. Well, let’s go have a look, shall we?”

 

Rakutsu then appeared from behind her, the doctor next to him. “The doctor and I will be here. Be careful. Adieu!”

 

“We will!”

* * *

 

Clear left. Clear right. 

 

“Good, the scarecrow isn’t here,” I said.

 

Ms. Dorobo sighed in relief. “Good. I don’t fancy the idea of encountering him right now.”

 

“We should hear it dragging its arm when it moves, so we have plenty of time to get away,” Ruby pointed out, then turned to the door. “But now, we must go in.”

 

The professor nodded. “Right…”

 

She went up to the door and started unlocking it with a bit of struggle, leaving me to my thoughts. Why would Mr. Oak do something like this? Why would he gather us all up in the gym with no real explanation, trapped under a dome and with a dangerous scarecrow? How many questions will he answer? And do we really want to know them…?

 

The lock then made a satisfying  _ click _ , and the professor opened the door. The office, much like the rest of the school, was dim, though the shining awards that were displayed on the shelf behind Mr. Oak’s desk still made some light through it. But those awards don’t mean anything right now.

 

“Excuse us, Mr. Oak!” I called to him, coming closer to his desk.

 

He said nothing.

 

“Mr. Oak?”

 

He’s right there though, sitting on his chair with his back to us...it’s not hard to tell with the Pidgeot’s distinctive orange and yellow head feathers.

 

“Speak to us headmaster!” Ruby barked. “Have you gone deaf!?”

 

“Ruby, be polite!” I scolded to him. “This is the headmaster you’re talking to, and I’m certain you were raised with manners back in Hoenn!”

 

“Is it his fault or mine that we had to come here?” he questioned, the fires in his eyes appearing as small flames. He then turned the chair back, crying, “Headmaster, will you–WHAT!?”

  
“Huh–AHHH!”

 

“OH GODS–”

 

The thing there...is no longer Mr. Oak. His half-closed eyes are dull and cloudy, a stark contrast to the once soul piercing green. The skin underneath his feathers are deathly pale. 

 

“What...what is this madness?” Ruby whispered.

 

“H-him too?”

 

Yes...this is him. No matter how much I deny it...The bird who had helped me...who helped Y...is gone.

* * *

 

_ Second class end. _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, the ending may not be as impactful as it really should be because there's no prequel establishing that, nor any scenes with Green being directly there, but yeah, things are that bad for _Green_ to be dead.


	6. Third Class

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Murder of Headmaster Oak: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_ZFbhgeavI&t=1s  
> This Strange Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMHi6KqsG6E  
> Maintenance Office: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrMNnYMQw8s&t=47s  
> From Bad to Worse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcVwmhfQxHk  
> Nageki’s theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExeY005bXSc

_Third class start._

* * *

 

“....poisoning. It seems to happened a few hours ago,” Dr. Esprit announced. “I believe he was already dead when that announcement was broadcasted.”

 

No….

 

The professor looked up from his broadcasting equipment. “It looks like they put the video together from last year’s disaster drill footage.”

 

So somebirdie killed the headmaster and gathered everyone in the gym…

 

“Why would anyone...?”

 

“No other explanation than the obscene delight in the grotesque,” Ruby swiftly answered, his eyes staring at the desk in pure disgust. 

 

“It seems that we all had vastly underestimated the magnitude of this situation…” Ms. Dorobo murmured, pure horror and fear in her eyes. “It might be better if we keep this situation to ourselves for now.”

 

“I agree,” the doctor said, much too readily for my own comfort. “Until we have a solid grasp on the situation on wing, telling it to others will cause unnecessary panic.”

 

First Y, now Mr. Oak, both poisoned. Two good people who died to a mysterious and unjust cause. Were they killed by the same person?

 

“Though more rationally, they must have a good reason for killing him and fabricating the broadcast,” Ruby continued. “This must be connected to the quarantine.”

 

“But why?”

 

Why do they need to seal us in? Why do they have to kill him? Why would they do all of this, willing to kill an innocent bird for such a cause?

 

“But anyway, as we are here now, we should look for some more clues,” Ruby said.

 

I nodded. “Yeah.”

 

Anything to get this mystery solved quicker.

 

“We’ll help,” the professor piped in.

 

The doctor nodded, pointing at one of the shelves. “You will need all the help you can get with  _ that _ .”

 

I turned to the shelf, and I felt my throat dropped straight into my stomach. Documents and papers are piled high on every shelf. Finding anything useful in there is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

 

“Where do we even start…?”

 

“Examine each piece one at a time for anything about emergency procedures, plans of the school, and other subjects like that, of course,” Ruby answered irritatedly, then sighed disdainfully. “You have to keep your focus Cedrinus.”

 

“All right, all right.” Calm down for fuck’s sake.

 

I then flew over to one of the shelves, then picked up a file. PTA records...no, that’s not it. Demographics for dummies….no. And I wonder why he needed it. Transfer Students...wait, next to that is–  

 

“The Human Representative?”

 

That must mean Y. It probably doesn’t have any relation to the mystery on wing right now, but it’s worth taking. Maybe it has something useful. But I wonder why it’s locked...

 

After a while of searching, everyone else shook their heads, their wings empty.

 

“I’m sorry Cedrinus, but I can’t find anything in relation to this,” the professor said mournfully.

 

“As same as with Ms. Dorobo,” the doctor added.

 

“Something as large scale as the school’s conversion into a shelter should have at least left a paper trail,” Ruby murmured. 

 

Weird...so maybe this document is….

 

“Hold on Ruby, I found this.” I held up the file. “It’s locked though, but it’s named ‘The Human Representative’, definitely about Y.”

 

“Locked? None of the other documents had that,” the professor remarked.

 

“Certainly it would be something important if it’s like that!” the doctor piped up, an excited glint in her eyes. I can’t tell if she genuinely wants this mystery solved, or it’s something else entirely.

 

“But  _ why  _ would a document about minority representative be sealed up like a criminal record?” Ruby wondered. “She’s no more important than a transfer student.”

 

“You answered your own question, Mr. Amachi,” Esprit dryly remarked. “Just be glad that you are a step closer to this.”

 

Huh….I never knew that Ruby’s other surname was Amachi.

 

“But it means nothing if we don’t have the key,” the professor sighed. “The headmaster can’t unlock it for us, and I doubt the key is lying around here.”

 

“Something in here might be important…” I murmured. “I wonder what’s in it. Maybe Mr. M can help us, but maybe...”

 

“Do you intend to break it open?” Ruby asked.

 

“Faster than looking around the key and hoping Mr. M has something to open it,” I pointed out.

 

“Though I do have to wonder about that,” the professor commented.

 

I turned to her, and saw her pointing at a strange, suspicious device on the desk. I didn’t notice that until now! Maybe it’s some sort of control panel?

 

“I’ve been wondering about that as well,” Ruby said. 

 

“Maybe it’s the control panel of the dome?” I suggested. “Though I can’t help but feel uneasy about it…”

 

“That is the most likely conclusion,” he agreed. 

 

I then noticed a piece of paper next to it, showing the design and structure of the dome. How and why did we not noticed that?

 

“It seems that it does control the dome...” I murmured. “Or it just only opens up the hatch….”

 

Ineffective, but still a way out.

 

“Of course, it would be quite easy to postulate that it was here,” Ruby commented.

 

The professor went up to it, pressing a few buttons. It let out a loud error sound. “Locked...it seems that it won’t be easy to break this one. We need a password to it.”

 

Unsurprising and frustrating, but at least we have actual hope for a way out of here. It makes me feel better, after all of what just happened. I think I feel a little lighter now too...it feels really nice.

 

“We should go to Mr. M now,” I said.

 

Ruby nodded. “I think we have exhausted the possibilities of this room for the time being. Let us go.”

 

“I’ll be back in the lab,” the professor added, and they both flew off. Great, I’m alone with the doctor.

 

“Mr. Cedrinus, a moment please,” she requested as we walked out of the office. Shit.

 

“...yes ma’am?” I asked as politely as I could.

 

“Kuhaha...it seems you still haven’t lost your open distrust of me,” she commented, though she sounded rather sad about it. Pathetic bitch.

 

I tried to not glare at her, tried to not let any flame show, tried to keep a level tone. “Two people have been poisoned, and your and Rakutsu’s alibis are contradictory to Professor Dorobo. It’s not very hard to doubt you a little, ma’am.”

 

Though it’s quite difficult for Ruby.

 

“Kuhaha…” Her laugh sounded bitter. “How honest of you. Did you find it yet? The thing you forgot about?”

 

The thing I forgot about? She must have been talking about what she said earlier….

 

“No, I am not convinced you’re not trying to mess with me,” I continued, then felt the savage flame growing. “Are you sure you’re not trying to keep me from something you thought nobirdie knew about?”

 

“How cruel of you, Mr. Cedrinus,” she sighed, giving a look that could either be mock hurt, or genuine pain. “Your great suspicion hurts me dearly. But I truly do want you to solve this mystery. So I’ll give you this little help I have.”

 

I don’t know what are you doing or saying, but you clearly aren’t helping with your case of not being involved with this. 

 

“I think this mystery doesn’t require any hard thinking at all. The truth can only be reached if you keep going. There’s no need to use your brain for this.”

 

No hard thinking? Just keep going? You definitely sound like you know the truth of this whole situation…

 

The savage flame appeared, lashing dangerously, as it spread its hellish heat throughout my body. “Are you saying you know the truth already?”

 

She contemplated on those words for a moment, as if she was trying to decide her own response. She then shrugged. “Up to you to decide.”

 

I felt the infernal flame on my skin, before grabbing Esprit by her neck feathers, feeling it grow when I saw her startled eyes. 

 

“Tell me!” I growled. “Tell me all you know!”

 

“C-calm down Mr. Cedrinus,” she stammered, trying to remove my grip on her. I let her go, allowing her to talk as I tried to keep the savage flame at bay. “All I know is that you just need to keep going. That’s the only way you can solve this mystery.”

 

YOU–  

 

“Cedrinus, why are you falling behind!?” I heard Ruby called from what seemed to be the end of the corridor. “Come!”

 

I turned back to Esprit, giving her one cold glare that seemed to made her nervous. “I don’t know if you’re just taunting me or challenging me, but I swear I will find the truth. And if the truth reveals that you killed Y–”

 

She laughed, a strange, enigmatic laugh that made me stop in my words and want to set her ablaze right there and now. “I look forward to the answer you’ll find, Mr. Cedrinus...”

* * *

 

I knocked on the door, hoping for Mr. M to come soon and keep me from thinking of the doctor. 

 

Luckily, he opened the door, giving us a questioning look as we entered the room. “Hello you two. What do you need?”

 

The image of Mr. Oak’s dead body flashed in my mind, but I shook it off. “Well, you see…”

 

And so, we explained on what we found in Mr. Oak’s office, his reaction going from calm, to shock, then grief, then interest. When we were done, several moments of silence past, before he said, “It seems the plot has thickened. The headmaster is dead, there is a possible way out, and you found a locked file.” He stared at the file thoughtfully. “Curious...I believe I saw this before.”

 

What? 

 

“Such a forgetful old geezer,” Ruby muttered as we both looked at the file in his wings. “But anyways, we believe this file might be connected to the mystery. Can you unlock it?”

 

“Or break it,” I added.

 

Ruby then gave the file to him, and he examined it for several moments. His eyes then narrowed onto the file. “Hmmm...this will prove to be troublesome.”

 

Oh no….

 

“What do you mean?” I asked. “It’s just a lock, right?”

 

He shook his head. “If we were to force it open, spontaneous combustion will occur.”

 

I felt fire cover my skin and smoke coming out of Ruby’s mouth. “WHAT!?” 

 

“But why!?” I cried.

 

“They’re just information on a minority representative!” Ruby agreed. “How would such an ordinary document warrant such security!?”

 

Yeah! Sure, they are a sore wing among a bunch of lockless files in the headmaster’s office, but that’s just extreme! So Y’s enrollment here has something to do with all of this!?

 

“Perhaps this document  _ isn’t  _ ordinary at all,” Mr. M pointed out, sounding very irritated to Ruby’s blindness before he suddenly smiled. “But do not worry, I have dealt with similar things in the past. It will take time, but I believe I can safely open it.” He went lost into thought, his smile growing as if he remembered something important. “In fact, I think I may have opened this before….”

 

What the….

 

“I suppose defusing bombs is all part of the maintenance work?” I asked sarcastically.

 

His smile then turned into a sly smirk, followed by a strange twinkle in his eye. “Do not forget, I’m not just some ordinary maintenance worker.”

 

What does this have to do with anything!?

 

“So maintenance workers in Johto are required to have a variety of skills.” Ruby smirked. “I’m impressed.”

 

I can’t believe he didn’t use the opportunity of insulting Mr. M and instead compliment on him for something that clearly isn’t normal for an ordinary maintenance worker. And here I was expecting that he would be the only semblance of normalcy right now…wait a minute. I think I’m forgetting something.

 

“Oh right! Mr. M, can we ask you one more thing?”

 

He looked at me curiously. “Hm?”

 

“You know the control panel in the office that could possibly control the dome, and how it’s locked? Can you unlock it for us?”

 

“It seems to require a password,” Ruby added.

 

Mr. M’s eyes suddenly brightened up, before saying, “Ask Mr. Masayoshi about that. He is a master of unauthorized access.”

 

What!?

 

“Really!?” I cried.

 

Oh thank the gods! We’re saved! ...Possibly.

 

“So the wretched mongrel lowered himself to this sort of crime too!?” Ruby bristled. “What other lawless tricks does he have hiding in his wings!?”

 

He really does hate Rakutsu for Wally’s disappearance...it’s sad and infuriating to see.

 

“Look Ruby, I know you still are grieving over Wally...but you have to let go of the blaming. We desperately need his help right now, and yelling at him for something he may have never done at all is not going to do any good right now.”

 

Mr. M nodded, a strange sad look in his eyes. “Yes...there is no point to bear grudges in a time like this.”

 

Ruby glared daggers at Mr. M, but instead of yelling at him, he nodded grudgingly and looked away. Mr. M smiled, one of pride and sadness, before he said, “But anyways, I will take care of the file for you. I am not sure, but I’m certain that I will finish opening it by the time you and Masayoshi return here.”

 

That’s wonderful!

 

I nodded. “All right! Thank you Mr. M!”

 

I then wrote all of what we learned down, before I heard a growl from my stomach. Now I think about it...it’s been quite a long time since breakfast.

 

“Sorry,” I said sheepishly.

 

“Hmph...control your own hunger Cedrinus,” Ruby muttered. “You can’t afford such complaints from the body at a time like this.”

  
Another growl came, though it wasn’t from me.

 

“....Perhaps we should eat before we leave,” he concluded.

 

Mr. M laughed. “I assume that you have your own lunches with you?”

 

I nodded. “Yep!”

 

“The school’s food here is not befitting of a noble,” Ruby scoffed. “Of course I brought my own. Only the best for a Petalburg.”

 

He chuckled at those words. “I’ll get some water for you two. Just wait a moment.”

 

He then flew off to the screen covered area of the room, letting us to make a plan before we start eating our lunch.

 

“So...where should we go now then?” I asked.

 

“The lab, quite clearly,” Ruby answered. “That is his post of duty.”

 

Oh yeah!

 

I smiled. “All right then!”

 

We then started unpacking our lunches, and immediately after I put my own lunch down, a very fancy and intricately patterned looking bowl with just as fancy looking and intricately patterned chopsticks came out of Ruby’s bag. They both seemed to be made from extremely fine china, as not even the beautiful ones that rested on our shelves since our more wealthier days could be comparable to it.

 

“Stop gawking and start eating your meal Cedrinus,” Ruby snapped.

 

I looked away, hoping there wasn’t any fire of embarrassment on me. “S-sorry, your bowl and chopsticks are really pretty. I’m not sure why you would bring something like that to school.”

 

He huffed. “Only the best for a noblebird, which of course, you can’t understand. A shame you are forced to squalor like ferals and not appreciate beauty like this. Now eat.”

 

“All right,” I replied, feeling quite irritated by his words. I then opened my own container, to smell the nice, warm spinach pasta. Spinach pasta always gave me good memories of Mother and Y. We would always gathered up at one small table, eating together with each other in comfortable silence. The scent lulled me back to that time, that house, that table, to Mother, weak but happy, and to Y, beautiful as ever. 

 

Then cold, hard reality crashed down on me, and I remembered I was at school, figuring out the mystery of Y’s death and the dome that trapped all of us from the comforts of home, with only an elitist prick and a polite yet ominous janitor as my companions right now.

 

I sighed, shaking my head. There’s no use reminiscing the past, when we’re not even certain that we would come out of here alive either. Better start eating now. 

 

I started to pick up one of the pieces with my fork and eat it, when something horribly fishy filled the room.

 

“What’s that smell!?” Mr. M cried, and I turned to see him holding two water bottles and staring at Ruby.

 

I turned to the Altaria next to me, who was eating sushi that probably costed a whole month of rent. He seemed to be enjoying it, until he realized that both of us were staring. Instantly, he gulped the roll down and glared at both of us.

 

“Do you ferals have any idea on manners!?” he snapped. “Focus on your own fares and uproot the envy in your hearts! It will only tear you up like the Mandibuzz when it eats a corpse!”

 

“I think a Mandibuzz eating a corpse smells better than your own lunch,” Mr. M replied sarcastically as he walked over to the table, putting down the water bottles. He then gave a smile to both of us. “I hope you two enjoy your lunches.”

 

I nodded, gulping up the piece and grabbing a water bottle to put in my bag. “We will! Thank you Mr. M!”

 

He smiled. “It is my pleasure.”

 

Ruby said nothing, having returned eating and glaring at Mr. M until he disappeared into the screen covered part of the room. Soon, we finished our lunch, and we took off.

* * *

 

“I really hope Rakutsu’s in the lab,” I said to Ruby, as we both walked down the hallway, glancing around every once in a while for the scarecrow.

 

“Most likely gallivanting like a nincompoop,” Ruby muttered. 

 

I sighed. “This would have been a lot more easier if we can use our phones.”

 

Ruby sighed too, nodding in agreement. “Alas, quite an odious stroke of luck.”

 

We then continued our way to the lab, still making sure that the scarecrow isn’t around. Fortunately, by the time we were near the hall with it, we caught no sight of it. Though we can’t exactly be sure that it’s not around here…

 

“We are here soon,” Ruby announced. “Better pray he isn’t fooling around like an idiot he is.”

 

As we turned around the corner– 

 

_ Prrrrrrhhhhh...Creeeeeeaaakkkk!  _

 

“THE SCARECROW!”

 

“Uhhhh...fssh…oo….waaaa...”

 

“Of all the–”

 

Before Ruby could finish, its arm slammed down into a nearby door’s window. The shattered glass scattered all over on the floor. It then slowly moved up to us. OH GODS– 

 

“RUBY, WE GOTTA RUN!”

 

“Oooh...ah, oh….”

 

“DON’T ORDER ME–”

 

The scarecrow’s arm then slammed into another door’s window, leaving behind shattered glass. All I heard was a yelp from Ruby, before I flew off to safety.

“Huff...huff...huff…we’ve lost it...right?”

 

I turned around, and saw an open door, leading to the hallway. I looked around, seeing bookshelves covered in nearly complete darkness. Oh shit. Ruby and I must have flew off in different directions. Fuck. I hope he’s okay…

  
Of all the times to run in that thing again. If it’s lying in wait for us, we can’t rely on the noise of its arm anymore. The dome and sudden cut in electricity made the building more darker, and even fire, natural fae light, and a phone’s flashlight takes up energy, precious energy that we can’t afford to lose. Rest can’t come easy at a time like this, leaving us only caution to anything ahead.

 

Where is it now? I can’t exactly return to the lab right now...it might still be there.

 

_ Fwip.  _

 

Huh? Did I just hear something?

 

I turned to the noise, and saw a darkly colored Decidueye, reading a book at one of the tables. How and why is he still here!?   
  


I flew up to him, surprisingly not alerting him to the flapping of my wings. “What are you doing here, all alone?”

 

He turned around, and strangely, he said nothing, only staring at me with a slack beak and shocked gray eyes, with strangely glowing heterochromatic pupils, his right one especially resembling an orb of burning flame.

 

“Did you see the wall outside?” I continued. “There’s been an emergency and everybirdie’s supposed to be gathered in the gym. You should–”

 

“...Are you...Cedrinus Trevor?” he asked.

 

How did he know my name!? Have we met before and I don’t remember!?

 

I nodded slowly. “Yeah...but er...have we met before?”

 

He shook his head. “This is the first time we’ve spoken.”

 

What….

 

“Then how and why do you know my name?”

 

The Decidueye’s eyes suddenly clouded, the strange glowing in his pupils growing. “She told me. Ms. Gabena.”

 

Y….? Oh, right. She told me that she befriended a freshman, a shiny Decidueye, who spent all his time in the library. Why didn’t I remember that? I don’t even remember his name either…

 

“Can I ask for your name?”

 

“Evans...X.”

 

X? That’s a weird name. Is it a nickname or something? Wait...if he’s Y’s friend, then that means…

 

“Have you seen Y yesterday, after school? Was she acting strange at all or...”

 

Oh. Shit. He didn’t hear the emergency broadcast. So he doesn’t know what happened to her either...gods, I can’t do it. My heart’s beating so fast that I could faint, and if it isn’t my heart, the pain in my chest might suffocate me.

 

I took a deep breath, trying to not focus on what I saw. “Uh….well...she–”

 

“Don’t worry about it, you don’t have to explain it again,” he cut me off, his pupils and its light growing. “I already know.”

 

Wait...what!?

 

“What do you mean?”

 

He sighed sadly. “She washed up here, and talked to me. That can only mean one thing.” I thought I saw tears in his eyes. “She’s dead.”

 

I feel sorry for X...but...I’m confused. What does he mean about all of this? Of course he could see things like that, he’s a Ghost type. But when he puts it like that... Is he saying he’s dead or something? Or is he talking about her yesterday? I don’t think he even cares to explain to me all of this right now…but either way, he knows something!   
  


“She washed up here? Did it happened yesterday?” I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and I tried to hold them down. “Please, if you know anything about what happened to her last night, tell me!”

 

He shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry, but I do not know what happened to her at that time. She didn’t went to the library after school yesterday.”

 

Now the doctor and Rakutsu’s alibis seem more suspicious…

 

“Thank you for your help,” I said, trying to keep myself calm. “It is valuable to uncovering the circumstances of her...death. But anyways, I have to leave to the lab now. You should leave to the gym. There’s a dangerous creature roaming these halls right now.”

 

He said nothing, instead looking up to me with indistinguishable eyes, covered in gold and fire. “...It was not yesterday that she came here. It was...just now.”

 

“What!?” I cried. I looked around the library, hoping for a sight of her, hoping for a glimpse of her, hoping, hoping, hoping, hoping….just for one more look. One more look of her beautiful face. But I saw nothing.

 

“X–”

 

He’s gone. He was there moments ago, talking with me. He must have teleported his way out of here and to the gym. Or at least, I hope so. 

 

I then flew out to the library, glancing around the halls for the scarecrow, in the extremely unlikely chance that it was out there. When I saw nothing, I continue flying, thinking about that strange Decidueye X. He claims to know Y’s dead, just because she “washed up” to the library, whatever that means. He didn’t bother explaining to me what he even means, only rambling to himself. He also claims to have seen Y at that moment, but she was not there, and he disappeared also, even though I had more to ask. And the weirdest of that all are his pupils and its light, almost resembling the...

 

No, the Bookkeeper is just a myth. A silly rumor. I really don’t want to consider the possibility, but I might be starting to lose my grip on reality. I need to keep myself calm, as Ruby says. I have to last long enough to find the killer….!

* * *

 

“Cedrinus, where have you been!?” Ruby cried as I walked into the room. “Were you following your own obsolete feral instincts!? You should know that you are fool for following those kinds of things in a time of this!”

 

Any worries of my own sanity was melted away, seeing Ruby safe, even though he’s yelling at me right now for running away from danger. “I’m sorry, I just flew off in a different direction when we saw the scarecrow man...but I’m just really glad that you’re safe.”

 

“He is also just as glad to see you’re safe, and so am I,” Rakutsu agreed, and I saw him leaning against the table, a cheerful and relieved smile on his face. “He couldn’t sit still the entire time you were gone. I was tempted to go out there and find you just to calm his nerves.”

 

How kind of Rakutsu…but I still can’t help but feel uneasy being near him now that his alibi is put into even more further questioning.

 

“Silence mongrel!” Ruby screeched, looking almost ready to pounce on the poor Swanna, though his eyes betrayed his own relief. 

 

“Haha...thank you Ruby,” I said, feeling a smile come onto my face. “Sorry again for worrying you.”

 

“Anyways, Ruby filled me in on both of your adventures.” He then gave me a questioning smirk. “You want me to hack into the headmaster’s computer?”

 

I nodded eagerly. “Can you do it?”

 

He winked at me. “Naturally. Leave it all to me. Come on, let’s go!”

 

“Stay safe!” the doctor called to us, before we all flew off.

* * *

 

“Welcome back, you all,” the professor greeted, a relieved smile on her face. “It’s great to see you all safe and sound.”

 

The doctor nodded, leaning on the desk. “It is indeed. I rather not rely on the chances with the limited medical supply we have to repair any major damage.”

 

I smiled and nodded at the professor. “Thank you, ma’am.” I then gestured towards Rakutsu, who then gave her a small bow. “We also brought Rakutsu here to hack into the control panel.”

 

The professor looked at all of us questioningly. “You know that’s illegal.”

 

I felt my chest grow tight. Well yeah– 

 

“Don’t you comprehend our situation!?” Ruby snapped. “We can’t afford to follow any law at a time like this!”    
  


Both the professor and the doctor laughed, the professor’s being unusually dry and the doctor’s being  very bitter, for some reason. “I never said that you shouldn’t do it. We don’t have much of a choice here,” the professor pointed out, then turned to Rakutsu. “You can start now, Masayoshi.”

 

The tightness vanished, melting into a sigh of relief. “Thank you, ma’am!”

 

“Well, having Ms. Dorobo’s approval certainly helps my conscience,” Rakutsu remarked, but I couldn’t tell if it was genuine or ironic. He then went up to the control panel, pressing a button. “Let’s see…”

 

The computer whirred to life, and after that...I have no idea what he was doing. I can feel my heartbeat pounding rapidly, but I don’t know if it’s out of excitement or fear of whatever Rakutsu might actually be planning.

 

“I wonder where he learned how to do that,” I mused.

 

Ruby glared at the Swanna angrily. “I imagine he spends his spare time stealing illegal x-rated videos off the Internet. Swannas are a very concupiscent species after all, and his foppishness chases away any sort of willing lover.” 

 

Porn teaches birds that sort of thing? Perhaps I should watch more of it myself, whenever I get the time. I bet seeing birds making really loud and kind of annoying noises as they indulge in their own kinds of kinks will make me able to hack so well, that I can just steal money from the bank to pay for the monthly bills. 

 

“Ah! There we go!” Rakutsu announced. “Now–”

 

A cheerful ping came from the computer, and he grinned. “We’re in as an administrator!”

 

“Oh thank the gods!” I cried, feeling myself lighter than ever as I ran over to the computer. Sadly, it stop when I saw our options. 

 

“Hmph...only an open and close button,” Ruby grumbled, glaring at Rakutsu as if it was all his fault for it. 

 

“Well...at least it’s straightforward,” the professor pointed out. “Less of a hassle to go through many more.”

 

“Appreciate this stroke of luck we have, Mr. Amachi,” Esprit scolded, and Ruby nodded quickly, before looking at Rakutsu in cold calmness. 

 

“Well, I’ll leave the rest of this for you,” he said, standing aside for us.

 

I stared down at the buttons, wondering what it could be for. They could either open or close for the entire dome itself, or just that hatch that we found. But with Mr. Oak dead, we have no way of knowing what’s happening out there. If...if there really is a terrible disaster out there, then everybirdie would be in danger. I wonder if Mother’s at home...I hope she’s okay.

 

“There is a dangerous creature in our halls, and the headmaster of this school is dead,” Ruby pointed out, as if he sensed by doubts. “It would be very wise to open this dome now.”

 

I nodded. “That’s true…”

  
And we got Rakutsu’s help and everything too…

 

I put my wing above the computer, hovering over the open button, mulling over our situation here and out there. To open it...or not open it? Be trapped with a dangerous scarecrow man and a murderer, or face a disaster that may not even happen at all? 

 

….We have to open it. That’s the only way we can ever confirm there is a disaster or not. Then we can fly out, leaving behind the scarecrow and hopefully, the murderer.

 

“Let’s open it,” I said. “We need to get everyone out of here.”

 

Ruby nodded eagerly. “Agreed. We can confirm once and for all that the talk of a disaster is nonsense.”

 

“I rather put our safety in our chances out there, as it seems very clear to me that it’s  _ much  _ better out there than in here,” the professor agreed.

 

I pressed the button, making a cheerful  _ ding _ . A message then popped up, saying, “Escape hatch opened.”

 

Well….I…..don’t know what to feel about that message. The disaster won’t be that destructive onto the school but...it’s too small to let everyone out quickly if there isn’t one.

 

“So….it isn’t for the dome…” I murmured.

 

“No matter, all we need to do is take a look outside,” Ruby said.

 

“As long as we have a good way out,” the professor added.

 

Another  _ ding _ came from the computer. We turned back to the screen, seeing a message that said, “The hatch will close automatically in 15 minutes. To reopen it, please reboot and try again.”

 

I stared at that message, feeling my heart pounding. “It stays open only for  _ 15 minutes _ !? What kind of design is this!?”

 

Ruby nodded. “Fifteen minutes is not enough to get everyone out...but I suppose we could just leave a Xatu here to operate this before leaving?”

 

“We should still go out and see it, before it closes,” the professor said, her wing on her chin. “If it’s safe, we will organize an evacuation.”

 

“A sound plan, Dorobo,” Ruby complimented. 

 

I nodded. “Let’s go then.”

 

“If you are leaving, then I will too, back to the lab,” the doctor said, walking to the door first. “I have no more business here.”

 

Rakutsu then gave us a small bow, before fluttering after her. “I shall accompany her, for a gentleman never goes back on his promise. Adieu!”

 

“Goodbye!” the professor called, then turned to us. “Now, let’s go, Cedrinus, Petalburg.”

 

Ruby nodded. “Very well!”

 

I nodded too. “All right!”

* * *

 

“So where was the hatch?” the professor asked, as we flew out of the building.

 

“Do you have eyes as pickled onions!?” Ruby barked, before pointing his head above. “Right there!”

 

I looked up, and there it was, revealing a patch of the vast, clear autumn sky. The control panel worked! I feel so happy I could faint! ...But that would be rather embarrassing to do, especially while airborne.

 

“While it’s a little narrow, I think everybirdie can fly up there. We should only go two or three at a time…”

 

Gods, I can’t wait to tell this to everyone!

 

“But outside–” Ruby interrupted.

 

The lie of a great disaster out there then shattered my happy mood. “Ah...yeah. It’s perfectly clear. No sign of a storm or gale, just a calm, autumn afternoon like in the morning.”

 

“No earthquake, no tycoon, and the announcement video was a fake.” Ruby shook his head, sighing bitterly. “This whole thing is most likely all a lie.” He looked up to the hatch, looking rather deep in thought. “I am curious about the state of things out there...but this hatch closes rather soon, so we must take great caution and consideration…”

 

Even here, we’re still isolated from everything. But now, knowing that outside is most likely safe, we now can spend the rest of the time looking for clues to uncover the plot surrounding Y’s death. Maybe we can ask the authorities to help us with the investigation too…

 

“I’ll go,” I announced, ready to fly up.

 

“Are you sure?” Ruby questioned, and I felt myself freeze when I saw the genuine concern in his eyes. “We don’t know if it’s truly safe out there.”

 

He’s right…

 

“But it’s not safe here either,” I pointed out. “So we’re trapped either way if you want to take caution.”

 

“Hey, the hatch has opened!”

 

Suddenly, we all froze, slowly turning around to see a Pidgeot and a Fearow on the ground, staring at their potential way out in excitement. 

 

“Finally! We can all go back home!”

 

The professor dived down to them, yelling, “No! You’re supposed to be staying in the gym! You shouldn’t go out yet! We haven’t determined if it’s safe out there yet!”

 

“Like heck that we’re going to stick around here with nothing but that bogus explanation from earlier!” the Fearow retorted. 

 

“I’m not waiting any longer!” the Pidgeot agreed, flying so fast up to there. “I’m going out!”

 

“WAIT!” Ruby screamed. “COME BACK AT ONCE!” 

 

“GET BACK HERE!” Ms. Dorobo cried, flying after them.

 

“YEAH!” I called, following after Ms. Dorobo. “WE DON’T KNOW IF IT’S SAFE!”

 

Before we could reach him, he was already out of the hatch and flying away from our sight.

 

“WAIT–”

 

_ BANG! _

 

“Gaaaaaaahhh!” the Pidgeot screamed, from what seemed to be a moderate distance away.

 

“A gunshot!?” Ruby exclaimed.

 

Bile and my lunch crawled up my throat, but I swallowed it down. I flew upwards, feeling like a scorching flame had wrapped all over my body. “W-we have to go help him!” 

 

“NO!”

  
Oh gods...please...please please please _PLEASE_ **_PLEASE_** have him still alive! I don’t want to lose another person today! 

  
Suddenly, I felt something sharp on my tail feathers, and turned to see Ruby, staring at me with so much fear that I felt myself paralyzed. He let go of my feathers, panting a bit.

 

“Cedrinus…you can’t go out there!” he cried, the fear in his eyes turning into undignified desperation and begging. “You’ll only get yourself shot as well!”

 

I heard the professor cry as she flew nearer, “I know that you are–”

 

No. Not this again. Not anymore. Not ever.

 

I tried to fight the urge to resist against her. “But–”

 

As if the gods above wanted to taunt me even more, the hatch made an unpleasant rumble, before snapping shut. He was shot. As soon as he went out, someone on the other side shot him. 

 

It was never a natural disaster at all. If we get out, we get  _ killed _ .

 

But why?

* * *

 

_ Third class end. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is when things start becoming more festive.


	7. Fourth Class

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry early Christmas guys! Here, have suffering! Also, happy early birthday Silver.
> 
> Maintenance Office: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrMNnYMQw8s&t=47s  
> The Dragon Meteor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyRVlFzIWXw  
> The File: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UimCdJkUDHI&t=2s  
> This Strange Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMHi6KqsG6E  
> Gold’s theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJhvLaNvaWg  
> Battle of the Golden Hearted Seraph: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo8wCrwLejw

_ Fourth class start. _

* * *

 

Y’s corpse, delivered without warning throughout the whole school. The students, gathered in the gym. Mr. Oak appearing on-screen to announce an emergency situation, only to turn up dead all along. The gray dome, sealing the school away from the rest of the world. The scarecrow man, appearing in a sealed up school for no apparent reason. And now...the students, shot dead if they dare to try to escape. 

 

The silence that now hangs above all of us was unbearable, torturous, agnonizing. Why are we here, quiet and still as statues? Were we expecting for him to come back, well and alive? Or is it just shock? I can’t stand this. I can’t stand this at all.

 

“What...is going on outside?” I asked, trying to speak as loudly as I could, but only making nothing more than a squeak.

 

“It seems all of our expectations are nothing but blind hopeful talk,” Ruby murmured. “Things are even worse than we expected.”

 

I nodded. “If only I’d stopped him…”

 

“Now I wished that we never went out…” the Fearow murmured. “I wished I’d stopped–”

 

“You two, there is no use to grieve over the past,” Ms. Dorobo interrupted coldly, turning to me to reveal tired, mournful eyes that couldn’t bear to express it anywhere else. “What’s done is done. We can’t do anything we didn’t, so we must go forward. When all of this over, we can grieve.”

 

Ruby nodded, then gave me a pointed stare, one that revealed nothing of his own feelings. “Are you intending to give up at a time like this?”

 

I shook my head, feeling the scorching flame from just a few minutes ago, curling and lashing inside me. “No. I want to keep going.”

 

Ruby grinned, though it was a grim one. “That’s the spirit.”

 

The professor nodded, before turning to the direction of the gym. “I think we should keep this quiet to everyone at the gym, until we find a solution and the truth to all of this.”

 

I nodded. “Yeah. That’s probably the best way to go.”

 

The Fearow nodded, looking almost ready to tear up. “I don’t think I have the heart to tell anyone about this…”

 

“Come, I’ll take you back to the gym,” the professor said to the Fearow, extending her wing in a gesture of comfort. 

 

We watched her put a wing on the poor bird, both of them walking away slowly back to the gym. They shouldn’t have been walking away like that. They should have been happy, flying back to the gym like little birds after a long winter, playing and testing their wings to the winds of spring.  _ We  _ should have been like that, carrying the joyful news of freedom and rescue from this hell of a school. But instead, freedom was just a one-way ticket to the Shadow Dragon’s Kingdom.

 

This news should have crushed me. I was never the brave or strong type of sort, always the meek bird in the crowd. But Y, this dome, Mr. Oak, that bird, the death outside...it just makes me want to go on more, and find out the truth to all of this. It makes me want to deliver justice to whoever caused all of this, the justice that they have evaded for this long. But I can’t...I can’t do that. I have to seek more...seek more hints, more clues, more answers. But what are they, and where are they, in this dreadful school?

 

“So...where should we go next?” Ruby asked, cutting me further from more thoughts.

 

“The maintenance office,” I replied, remembering Mr. M opening up the file that might solve all of our answers. “Mr. M might have finished opening up that file for us.”

 

Ruby nodded. “Mhm...you are correct. He seems to be excellent and respectable enough as a locksmith to be finished with such a complex lock.”

* * *

 

When we returned to the maintenance office, we immediately explained to Mr. M on all the things that had happened while we were outside. When we were done, a solemn, but not shocked, expression covered his face, as if he was expecting it, and used to hopeful things turning out to be deadly traps.

 

“I see…” he murmured. “It seems that our worst predictions have come to bear their evil fruit.”

 

Ruby looked at him questioningly, rather shocked than angry surprisingly. “Our worst predictions? Do you know something about this?”

 

He shook his head, a small, grim smile forming on his face. “We can predict things without knowing that they will happen.” He sighed. “Confusing ones with reality can be fatal, young one.”

 

He even sounds like he’s used to all of this mess.

 

“Mr. M...I’ve been meaning to ask this to you for a while...are you really just a maintenance worker?”

 

Confident enough to work with such a powerful lock that, answering very vaguely to my remark of his oddness, completely unsurprised from all of this...who is he?

 

He sighed, putting his wing underneath that brown bandana. “An innocent student has just been shot, and Oak has been announced dead. I suppose now is the time to properly introduce myself.”

 

Mr. M then pulled out a badge under it, revealing an emblem of a side view of a golden Togekiss, holding an olive branch in its mouth with the large, iridescent wings of Ho-Oh behind both of them.

 

He then grinned wryly. “I am Kessho Emerald, the ‘Dragon Meteor’. Member of the Soaring Wings of the Togekiss Party, S-Rank agent, and head of its highly esteemed Engineering Department. A pleasure to meet you.”

 

WHAT!?

 

“T-the T-Togekiss Party!?”

 

What kind of party  _ is  _ that!?

 

“I have heard of the Togekiss Party before,” Ruby said as calmly as he could. “They are a secret organization that advocates harmony with humans. The Petalburg family has a vehement disagreement on their opinions.” 

 

The Swellow’s grin turned amused, as he put away his badge. “Ah...thank you, Mr. Petalburg. And yes, you are correct on all accounts. Though you don’t seem rather aggressive to me…”

 

“It is a noblebird’s duty to show some respect to a powerful ally,” Ruby replied curtly.

 

Mr. M, er, Mr.  _ Emerald _ , being a spy from a secret organization I never heard of,  _ and  _ Ruby being respectful to his opinions!? This day just got even more weirder.

 

“Uhhhh...I think I’m missing something here,” I said.

 

“Strange, that you are not aware of such things,” Ruby mused, surprisingly calm despite me showing what he would consider an act of ignorance and foolishness of a feral. “Even without regarding the organizations, I would assume many birds know the schools of thoughts that drives the politics today.”

 

I shrugged. “Mother never bothered telling me any of that, and no kid would bother talking about those kind of things either.”

 

Now I think about it...Mother never really talked much of her past, or Father’s either. And for someone as highly esteemed as Dr. Esprit, I didn’t know anything about her fame until now. Was Mother trying to hide something from me about all of this?

 

“But anyways, one school of thought is the Togekiss Party, who believes that we should live peacefully with humans, and the Staraptor Party, who believes that we should exterminate the rest of them. The Petalburg family are aligned to the Staraptors, having lent them our support before.”

 

“You sound surprisingly shameless about your own anti-human views, despite the fact that you go to school with a human and investigating her own death because of your own sympathy for her,” I muttered.

 

“I never said that  _ I  _ am aligned with those views, Cedrinus,” Ruby countered, his face surprisingly not as harsh as I expected it would. “Yes, I had those views before, but I will not admit with shame that knowing her had me taken a less harsher view oh humanity. She may be uncouth and crude, but she did no harm to anyone here. That gave me a little respect for her.”

 

“And a shame that she had to be caught in between the disagreements between both human and bird, and the Staraptors and the Togekisses,” Mr. Emerald sighed. “We had originally had made this school as a way to prove to humans and birds can live in peace, but it seemed we had some turncoats, for we have found Staraptor activity in this school and been fed some misinformation. I was dispatched here along with Mr. Oak Green, who you all knew as Headmaster Oak Shida, to investigate it and protect Ms. Yvonne Gabena. Unfortunately, what we feared would happen...has happened.”

 

WHAT!?

 

“W-wait...you’re saying that the Staraptor Party has something to do with Rainbow Wing Academy!?”

 

Ruby nodded, looking just as shocked. “It is hard to believe, with its tolerant policies toward humans. They even welcomed Gabena as a representative.”

 

“Sadly, you are incorrect,” he sighed. “For the last two years, there were forty-two Staraptor agents in this school, all who want to harm Gabena. Before that, there were several more agents, who were then called back in order to avoid suspicion. We managed to identify and arrest forty-one of those forty-two in our two years here, but we could never arrest the one who still remains.”

 

He turned to the screen covered side of the room, his eyes filled with regret. “The file that was founded in the headmaster’s office was one I had unlocked before, but I had lost my memory of that and the contents of it, most definitely because of that Staraptor agent. I think that I know who that agent is….but I can’t say it. They’re making me not say it.” He shook his head angrily, then sighed. “But it’s still a relief that I was able to unlock it successfully again.” 

 

What!? So Mr. Emerald was already under some kind of amnesia spell from some kind of Psychic or Fairy type, and still is!? No wonder why he couldn’t help us with the dome and seems to have known that file before! But at least now we know that there is a chance the one behind all of this is a Staraptor agent, who is either a Psychic or Fairy type, or has power over the mind.

 

He turned back to us, an apologetic smile on his face. “But even if I managed to unlock it...I still feel that I should be at fault for letting myself to be affected by such a spell, even with all the protection I have against it. Will you two forgive me for my ineptitude?”

 

“It’s all right, Mr. Emerald,” I said, with a smile. “You managed to unlock the file for all of us to read. And now we know that maybe the one behind all of this is a Psychic or Fairy type Staraptor agent.”

 

“At least we all know now,” Ruby agreed. “Granted, it would have been better if it was earlier, but I suppose that’s just part of the culprit’s plan. Quite a lover of the grotesque and misery, that brute is.”

 

“Anyways, I’ll get the file now,” Mr. Emerald said, flying over to the screen covered side of the room. “Then I’ll let you two read. I believe it will be better if you see it for yourself.”

 

“Thank you Mr. Emerald, for opening and getting it for us!” I said.

 

“Indeed, thank you, for aiding our investigation,” Ruby added.

 

A few moments later, he returned with the files, and placed them on the table. Both of us eagerly huddled around the precious papers, and read: 

 

_ “The Human Representative _

 

_ To help humans and birds advance hand-in-feather towards a bright and happy future, we have decided to enroll one human in the school starting in the year X187. They will be the Human Representative. The pandemic has long since ended, but we must nonetheless be cautious of the risk of infection with Sumatera Influenza when making our selection. We will pick a strong, healthy fifteen year old human who displays hereditary resistance to the Sumatera Influenza.” _

 

“This is most definitely Gabena, no matter how we may look at it,” Ruby remarked.

 

“That’s two years ago, when we first enrolled,” I murmured. 

 

“ _ The chosen individual will be a symbol of human concession, or in other words, a hostage for the birds, and spend two years there to form relationships with the birds in the school. If the Representative was to die in the school, the entire campus will be sealed off, and all the birds inside will be given to the humans as prisoners. The seal will be lifted twelve hours after the death is confirmed, and the birds will be delivered to the humans. The school will be declared an extraterritorial zone, and avian protests of any human reprisal will not be tolerated.” _

 

Oh….oh gods...

 

“If Y is to die…”

 

This is so much...so much...So her death was connected to the dome all along. And then–  

 

“The important part is this final gruesome exchange,” Ruby remarked bitterly.

 

I nodded. “If anything happens to Y, the representative of humanity….the entire school takes the blame.”

 

Gods, that’s just– 

 

Ruby nodded. “Quite brutal, isn’t it? Trapping all of us in here, to let the humans to arm themselves. The dome will open up in a few hours, but what awaits us are a horde of bloodthirsty beasts.” He laughed bitterly. “How humorous.”

 

“N-not the time Ruby!” I cried, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart and the fires that want to appear. 

 

“Of course it isn’t,” Ruby agreed, looking more shocked and stressed than irritated. “The enrollment of Gabena was never supposed to bring peace….it was always meant to widen the divide between humans and birds from the start.” 

 

Mr. Emerald sighed, nodding. “Indeed it was...but the Togekiss Party was desperate at the time. We wanted to prove that there can be unity between humans and the birds as quickly as possible. But there was stubbornness from the bitter and angry humans, and we had blindly believed in the loyalties of the Ichijou Group, the principal financer of the school and a sharer of our beliefs...we believed in every lie they had said…” 

 

He sighed once more. “The Staraptors were eating away the system like a virus for a long time, and I had failed to remove it. I failed to protect her, failed to protect my own comrades, failed our hopes and dreams...and now, I may fail every single bird and their families in this school, all because of that Staraptor agent that will kill and bend me to their will if they ever see me in the halls.”

 

Oh….oh gods...he looks like he’s about to cry…

 

“It’s all right, Mr. Emerald,” I assured, putting a wing on his shoulder. “At least you did what you can. And you have us to help.”

 

“You can redeem your past failures by helping all of us get out of here alive,” Ruby added. “There is no use crying over what happened in the past, we can only focus on the present. And you are not working here alone.”

 

He nodded, giving us a small, weary smile, revealing exhausted green eyes that wished to close forever, in a place far, far away from here. It broke my heart, for as highly skilled and accomplished he is, he’s still just a normal bird, a normal bird who made so many mistakes that he can’t repair. And now, with the lives of so many birds on his shoulders and an enemy who most definitely will try to stop him from doing it, he has to put all of that regret and guilt away just for a little while, and even then, he doesn’t know if he can ever have that while before he meets Death. 

 

“Yes...you are right,” he murmured, then sniffed, wiping away some tears. “I can’t...I can’t stand here and wallow in my self-pity. We don’t have time for that…”

 

I nodded, trying to remember and take all of this in once. I then recited, mostly to myself, “For twelve hours, the dome will remain closed, letting the humans to gather their weapons and take revenge.” My heart started beating faster. “And then–”

 

“...when the dome opens up, they will kill any bird in sight,” Ruby finished.

 

“And with that, another era of war between birds and humans will begin,” Mr. Emerald added so bitterly, it almost felt like a stab from a knife.

 

I started feeling queasy, remembering that student who got shot. They’re already here, with guns.

 

“She was discovered this morning, and the dome was raised soon after,” Ruby continued. “As the time is not from when she died but when her death is confirmed...what time was it when we evacuated?”

 

“The start of second period, 10 AM,” I answered.

 

“Then we only have until 10 PM before we’re all killed,” he concluded bitterly.

 

Bitterness. Just bitterness. Not panic. Not fear. Not nervousness. Not acceptance. Just bitterness.

 

“You seem calm about all of this Ruby, even after watching somebirdie get shot,” I commented.

 

His eyes then turned into the same fires of hell when he was mad, but it was calmer, filled with a resolution and determination stronger than any kind of metal. “Be calm, Cedrinus, for if you worry about what’s gone wrong, you will be next.”

 

He then looked out the door, the fires of hell turning dangerous. “Whoever is responsible for all of this will rue the day they decided to tangle with a Petalburg.”

 

I checked my Holocaster for the time. Oh fuck. It’s  _ 2. _

 

“We only have 8 hours,” I announced, putting it away.

 

8 hours to find an escape route, or we’re all dead. But if we go outside, we die anyways. 

 

“There must be another way!” I cried. “There  _ has  _ to be one!”

 

Ruby nodded eagerly. “My dictionary does not have the word ‘impossible’. We must continue the investigation!”

 

I nodded, letting myself a grin. “You’re very decisive, Ruby. I’m glad you’re here.”

 

“Thank you, Cedrinus,” he replied rather dismissively. 

 

“You’re welcome!”

 

As much as things have gotten worse than we thought, we have some new information now. We now know the dome and Y’s death were connected all along, and there is some kind of grand scale intrigue behind all of this. And now, I want to find more. I don’t want to die without finding the truth.

 

“We should start leaving now,” I said to Ruby. “We don’t want to waste any more time.”

 

Mr. Emerald smiled, a genuine, proud smile on his face that made me feel warmer. “You are a very promising young bird, Mr. Cedrinus. So, I need you to give you this piece of advice for you to reach that potential: don’t miss the forest for the trees.”

 

“Don’t miss the forest for the trees…?” Ruby wondered.

 

I nodded, looking down onto the file, until I noticed a piece of paper poking out. Wait, we hadn’t seen that one before!   
  


“Ruby, there’s one more file!” I cried, grabbing that piece of paper and reading it. “Huh? ‘Operation Hatoful’?

 

Ruby looked over my shoulder. “Huh? What is that?”

 

“I don’t know...that’s what it says here.” I looked down, and saw the bottom half torn off. How convenient. 

 

“It seems that either way, we can’t read this,” Ruby remarked.

 

“And I don’t think we’ll find anything hopeful from this,” I sighed. “But you know...this is an awfully friendly name for a confidential document.”

 

He sighed irritatedly, pointing at the word again. “Read it again, Cedrinus. Look, it’s spelled ‘hurtful’.”

 

I reread it again. “Oh! You are right!”

 

I thought hatoful just meant heartful! Agh...probably me confusing English and Japanese again.

 

“I imagine we will find many more hurtful things in our investigation,” Ruby mused.

 

I nodded, feeling the sense of dread settling in my stomach, almost making me throw up again, but I gulped it down. “You’re right...after all, they seem so important that someone would tear that part off from a document like this…”

 

“Hmmmm...I don’t know if I had ever seen this piece of paper or not...but you might want to look into the school’s history,” Mr. Emerald advised, then rubbed his chin. “I think I may have an idea on what it is...but there’s not much information to prove it possible or not.”

 

I wonder what the school’s history would have about this…but then again, everything seems to be all connected. It isn’t a far shot that we might find something through that.

 

I nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Emerald.” I turned to Ruby. “Let’s go look at the school documents now.”

 

“Wait, before you go, I have some more advice for you,” Mr. Emerald said. “There is another Togekiss agent in this school, and I’m certain he will help you.”

 

Another one? Maybe it’s Rakutsu? Though he’s already in a suspicious position, even without any other evidence...

 

“Oh! We should write all of this down first!” I cried. 

 

“Be quick,” Ruby replied. “We have no time to waste.”

  
My heart pounded at the reminder that we really  _ don’t  _ have any time to waste. “All right, all right!”

 

I took out my notebook and quickly jotted it down, before putting it back. “Now, let’s go!” I turned to Mr. Emerald, with a smile. “Thank you Mr. Emerald, for all of your help!”

 

He smiled, and nodded. “It is my pleasure. And good luck, gentlemen. May the gods be with you.”

* * *

 

After making sure that the scarecrow wasn’t in the hall we’re in, I asked, “Mr. Emerald said that we must look into the school’s history….but how? And where do we find it?”

 

“The headmaster’s office, or the library,” Ruby suggested. 

 

“I didn’t see any school records in the headmaster’s office. Did you?”

 

He shook his head. “No, I did not, and neither did Dorobo or Dr. Esprit. Strange, as I would have expect them in there…”

 

“The library it is then,” I said. “And then, we have to find–”

 

“The eccentric Togekiss who flew to the infirmary in desperate attempts to find Gabena,” Ruby finished. 

 

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. With Mr. Oak dead and an army of angry bipeds with guns ready to turn all of us into their next meal, I forgot about a potential ally.

 

“And the scarecrow, we still don’t know where he came from…”

 

“He appeared along with the dome, and is undoubtedly connected to it. I am certain that if we continued to investigate this situation, his origins will be clear.” He sighed. “But unfortunately, the best clue we have is Gabena’s gruesome death. For now, we should chase after this Togekiss, and forget the puppet for the time being.”

 

I nodded. “That’s a good plan.”

 

It’s decided then. We’ll go to the library for the school’s history...and find the Togekiss that might know something about all of this. Though what should we do first? I doubt it would matter, but it’s still worth knowing...

 

“How about we go look for the Togekiss first?”

 

“Do you have any idea on how to look for them?” Ruby questioned.

 

Hmmm...I don’t think so? This Togekiss is really strange, since his species sticks out like a sore wing in the crowd, and Black and I have no idea on who he is either. Maybe I had seen him around before, but didn’t really think about it much? Hmmm...maybe Rakutsu might know about this bird.

 

“I have no idea, but perhaps we can ask Rakutsu? He was in the infirmary, and the Togekiss was going to the infirmary. We should ask him again.”

 

Ruby thought for a moment, some bitterness in his eyes. “He did say he was there until he went home...If anyone went in, he should have seen them. However, he said that he saw nothing out of the ordinary. If what said is true, then he must be lying.”

 

I nodded sadly. “Ah yeah...I’ve been thinking of that for a while. Though that does mean the doctor has been lying too...”

 

“.....”

 

It’s clear that he hates that possibility. But at least he isn’t yelling at me, strange from the turmoil of emotions in his eyes.

 

“Let us go then,” he finally said. “We do not have any time to waste.”

* * *

 

“Salutations Trevor and Ruby,” Rakutsu greeted as we went into the lab. “How is the investigation?”

 

“Just who do you think I am?” Ruby snapped.

 

Rakutsu laughed. “Ah yeah...unlike me, you’re a very capable bird.”

 

I’m not sure if he’s being genuine or sarcastic, but either way,  _ damn _ .

 

“Anyway, we want to ask you something, Rakutsu,” I said. 

 

He gave me a questioning look. “Oh? I’ll answer anything just as long it doesn’t violate my privacy.”

 

Well...here it goes.

 

“Did you really not see anything strange yesterday, after school?”

 

He gave me a confused look, though I wasn’t sure if it was a genuine one or not. “What do you mean? I thought the doctor and I verified each other’s innocence. We were both in the infirmary the entire time.”

 

“We talked to Black earlier. He said that he saw a Togekiss flying to the infirmary yesterday.”

 

“Did you see anything like that?” Ruby questioned sharply.

 

He shook his head. “No. Sorry. Black did say that he was going to the infirmary, right? So I never saw him went in.”

 

Oh...that’s right.

 

“But yes, I didn’t see anything out of ordinary,” Rakutsu affirmed again, then turned to the doctor who was reading a file a little far away. “Right doctor?”

 

“Hrm?” She looked up, then nodded rather absentmindedly. “Yeah, that’s right. We didn’t see anything strange. No one came yesterday.”

  
All friends and acquaintances of Y asked, none who saw her, except Professor Dorobo, who doesn’t know where she went next, other then telling her to go to the infirmary to see me for some reason. So where exactly did Y went then? She was sent there, but never showed up? Looks like we have to pray we can find that Togekiss and get us to give answers to our questions now.

 

“I don’t think we can find any more answers here Ruby. Let’s go.” 

 

Ruby sighed. “...Indeed.”

 

As we headed for the door, I gave one last look to Rakutsu, sitting so relaxed and carefree as if nothing happened, and Dr. Esprit, who had returned back to reading her file. Did these two really not see anything yesterday? They have testimonies stacked against them, but they don’t exactly contradict them either...either way, it seems more likely now that that they’re hiding something. But what?

* * *

 

“The library….I wonder if X went to the gym yet,” I said to myself as we walked up the stairs.

 

Ruby gave me a confused look. “X? Who? And what kind of fool names their chick like that?”

 

I shrugged. “Don’t ask me, all I know is that his last name is Evans. But I met him in the library earlier.”

 

“He stayed behind?” Ruby huffed. “An unusually dense individual he certainly is.”

 

The library is a little ways up here. We should there be soon without any trouble.

* * *

 

“I don’t really want to think about it much, but the dim light makes the library even creepier than the rest of the school,” I admitted to Ruby as we entered the nearly dark library.

 

“You can not afford to get hung up with small things like this, Cedrinus,” Ruby scolded. “Your nerves must remain strong.”

 

“I know, I know,” I said. “I’m just saying.”

 

And you’re not exactly helping me either, so quiet.

 

“But anyway...where are the school documents?” he asked.

 

“Somewhere that nobirdie can easily access,” I guessed.

 

“Hmph...the back then. How dull. Come, let us search.”

 

I nodded. “All right.”   
  


We then flew over there and searched and searched and searched. All we got are books, books, and more books, none of them what we were looking for. I was hoping I could find something in this corner, but apparently not. And here, a line of incredibly dusty encyclo– 

  
“Huh? There are only nine of them. And volume 6 is missing...did somebirdie misfile them?”

 

But anyway, RWA’s history seems to be a smaller book. Nowhere near the larger volumes…

 

“It’s not here.”

 

I turned around, and saw X right behind me. What the–  

 

“You never left?”

 

“Is that a problem?” he asked, giving me a look that almost seems challenging.

 

“There’s an emergency going on, so yes, it is.”

 

I have absolutely no time or patience to deal with his vague and defiant attitude right now. 

 

He then put his wing on his chin, as if thinking on something. “Hmmmm….” 

 

I can’t tell if he doesn’t realize what’s happening right now or he doesn’t care. Either way, I really don’t want to deal with it.

 

“The records…”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Keep looking there, and you’ll never find them.”

 

Oh! He knows where they are! Then again, it isn’t surprising, considering that he seems to basically live here...   
  


I tried to not grab his vines when I asked, “Where is it? Please, tell me! It’s essential to our investigation, and we don’t have much time!”

 

“By request.”

 

WHAT THE–  

 

“Well, we can’t request  _ anything _ right now!” I cried.

 

He closed his eyes, and sighed very deeply and disdainfully, putting his wing on his forehead as he shook his head in disapproval. I think if his eyes were open right now, I probably might panic because of those pupils.

 

“You can only get them by request,” he continued. “It’s not put out here. It’s behind the reception desk, in the back. It’s not locked, so go ahead.”

 

Oh! There is a bunch of books behind there!

 

I let myself take a deep sigh of relief. “Thank you so much X! Really!”

 

He opened his eyes, which had a very small glimmer of cheerfulness in his eyes. It looked really nice and rare on him, compared to the sadness and coldness that I had seen from him.

 

“It’s no problem.”

 

“Cedrinus, stop mumbling to yourself,” Ruby suddenly interrupted. “Please, try to keep yourself in control of your faculties.”

 

I turned to Ruby, who looked rather irritated and fearful right now. Not that I can blame him. “Oh sorry Ruby, I was talking to him.”

 

My throat dropped when I saw Ruby’s face then turned into one of confusion and fear. “Talking? To the bookshelves? Please, keep yourself in control of your mind. We don’t have any time to slip into the realms of madness.”

 

What???

 

“But Ruby, he’s standing right here,” I protested, pointing to X, who surprisingly seems unfazed about all of this. “He just told me where to find the–”

 

“There’s no one here,” he interrupted, leaving an unbearably cold chill in my spine. “Cease this bizarre monodrama.”

 

What….what is he talking about? X is standing right next to me, not behind a shelf or anything else. How could Ruby not see him? I was worried for a while that he might be a figment of my imagination, but he just told me where to find the records...oh gods….I hope I really am not losing my mind…

 

“X....can I ask you something? Something...weird?”

 

“Go ahead,” he replied, very quickly and blankly.

 

I took a deep breath. “Are you a hallucination?”

 

To my surprise, X stared at me in contemplation, then put his wing on his chin. “If I was, that would mean you’re asking a hallucination whether or not he’s a hallucination.” 

 

I nodded. “Y-yeah...that’s right…” I laughed awkwardly. “It’s weird...I know…”

 

“But perhaps...I am an hallucination,” he answered, sadness prevalent in his eyes as he put his wing down. “Or...I may be not.” He laughed bitterly. “It doesn’t matter.”

 

WHAT THE–  

 

“T-that doesn’t answer anything!” 

 

A glimmer of joy then appeared in X’s eyes, which unlike before, was very melancholic. I wanted to look away from such a heart-wrenching sight, but I knew I couldn’t do it. “...This usually doesn’t happen. I’ve never been able to talk with a bird I’ve just met before…I think I’ll remember everything soon.” His eyes were then turned into one of solemness, and strangely, sadness. “Have you found the thing you forgot yet?”

 

WHAT!?   
  
“X, do you know something–”

 

He’s gone. How!? He was just right there!

 

The thing I forgot...that’s exactly what Dr. Esprit said too. How and why did X knew that? It wasn’t just a coincidence...was it? Am I forgetting something important about all of this? I don’t think he’s a hallucination anymore…

 

“Come on Ruby,” I called. “Let’s go find the records. I think know where it is.”

 

Ruby then sighed in relief. “Thank goodness, let’s go. It was getting very unnerving seeing you ramble to yourself like that.”

 

I then led Ruby to the request-only shelf, many of the books on there looking similar to the ones in Mr. Oak’s office. We then searched through all of the shelf, until Ruby held a book and said, “I believe we have found what we needed. This book is titled ‘Chronology of Rainbow Wing Academy’.”

 

I felt lighter on my feet. “Oh! Thank you so much Ruby!”

 

“Only expected from a bird like me.”

  
We then opened it, and read:

 

_ “X180 – Founding of the school, Ichijou Kitsugu inaugurated as headmaster.” _

 

That was just...8 years ago.

 

“Hmmm...this school’s founding is much more recent than I thought,” Ruby commented.

 

I nodded. “Me too...I didn’t know either.”

 

We then flipped the pages, seeing only sport scores and transfer students records. Is there really a clue in here?

 

Then, I saw something. Something strange.

 

I put my wing in front of Ruby, pointing at those words. “Wait! Ruby! Look at this!”

 

“Hrm?”

 

“X183, medical center shut down due to a fire…”

 

We had a medical center!?

 

“Medical center? Does this school have something like that?” Ruby questioned.

 

“I didn’t know until now…” I said. “But it’s possibly that it’s old, unused hall of the school that had rumors of scientists doing illegal experiments underneath it…”

 

Which seems to be a lot more truer than many students thought when they made that up now…

 

“Old?” Ruby questioned. “This school is only less than ten years old. You can’t possibly call that old.”

 

Oh yeah! That’s right!   
  


“Then I suppose it’s never reopened. We should go investigate that once we finish reading this!”

 

We then continued to read:  _ “Damage from the fire–” _

 

Huh?

 

_ “A freshman shiny Decidueye Evans Xavier died in the basement, where the fire started.” _

 

A new mystery, as if it or the gods themselves are taunting us of our inability to solve the other mysteries we have in our wings. A new, whole other kind of mystery, but of the terrifying unknown.

 

“...Didn’t you just said that surname earlier?” Ruby questioned.

 

I nodded. “Yeah….but maybe it’s a different bird? I mean, X is a shiny Decidueye, and that first name makes sense–”

 

“There are very few Decidueyes in this school, and I never recalled seeing a  _ shiny _ ,” Ruby pointed out. 

 

Yeah, I know. But X...died five years ago? Then what is the X I keep meeting today? He didn’t deny about being a hallucination...Ruby couldn’t see him. Which means he’s–  

  
“A ghost?”

 

“Don’t say such dreadful things!” Ruby snapped, his body quivering in fear. “There is no room for such fickle things in this mystery! Our very lives are on the line, and you decide it is the best idea to rely on a  _ spirit _ !?”

 

I sighed, putting my wing on my forehead. “I know Ruby, that this is completely outlandish and unreliable and scary, but I think X knows something! If he’s the same bird, he might be the key to solve this mystery!”

 

“So you truly believe that some invisible fickle ghost will save us all!?” Ruby cried, his eyes wild with anxiousness and worry. “There are limits, Cedrinus!”

 

Yes, it’s completely awful to think that such things could probably keep all of us from being killed...but I still believe that X will help us. He knows that there is something important I’m forgetting, just like what the doctor did. And maybe, just maybe, he knows something more. 

 

“I’ll go look for him then. Maybe he might have more useful things that would help us all.”

 

Ruby looked ready to object to my plan for a moment, before shutting his beak, giving me a concerned but unnervingly cold stare. “Go ahead. But don’t come crying to me if you don’t find him.”

 

I then flew through the whole library, searching through every nook and cranny, but I couldn’t find him. He always found me, rather than the other way around.

 

When I returned, I sighed, and shook my head. “I can’t find him.”

 

Ruby simply huffed. “Well, that’s that then. Now come and show me the way to this “old” hall. We have no time to waste.”

* * *

 

“This is it,” I said, once we landed. “What could have been the medical center.”

 

“This doesn’t look like a medical center…” Ruby commented.

 

“It does look the same as the main building…” I agreed, then shook the knob of the door. “Locked. Expected.” 

 

“Then we shall break it down,” Ruby announced, before taking a deep breath.

 

“You sound like a delinquent right now Ruby,” I commented.

 

Then again, he had the brilliant idea of trying to break a hole in the dome and the headmaster’s door. Now I think about it, the many things we did today definitely would get us suspended or arrested, but it doesn’t really matter now that it’s an emergency.

 

Suddenly, I hear a large sound of shattering, seeing that Ruby had just finished using Dragon Pulse on the door. That was...surprisingly easy. I thought it had shields for that or something.

 

“Well that was easy,” I remarked as we went in. “I would have thought it would take longer or something. Or that this door wasn’t standing.”

 

Then again, this school is filled with morbid things going on behind the scenes...

 

Before Ruby could comment on anything, we started coughing. 

 

“Ah gods...this is– _ cough _ –really dusty!” I cried.

 

“Of course– _ cough _ –it would be,” Ruby pointed out. “It– _ cough _ –has not been used in– _ cough _ –five years.”

 

After we stopped coughing, I looked around. There really isn’t anything much different here. It looks exactly the same as the main building. Its emptiness is kind of disturbing...but it makes sense, given that there might be something so disturbing in this place, it has been left like this and never destroyed.

 

“Hmph...it seems standing here will do no good.” Ruby then started walking down the hall. “Come, let us search.”

 

I then turned to the other side, then saw a sign on a door. I dusted it off, revealing it was a reference room.

 

“Hey Ruby! I think I found the reference room! Let’s go see what’s in there!”

 

“Thank goodness,” Ruby sighed. “I rather not wander about this mausoleum of schoolrooms more than I should.”

 

I then opened it, and quickly, we started coughing again. Gods, it’s even dustier here.

 

Once we stopped coughing, we looked through the shelves, dusting away the dust. It seems all of them had dates on them...they probably held medical records, but there’s nothing now.

 

“Ah...Operation Hatoful,” Ruby announced.

 

“Huh!?” I cried, running over to his side and nearly falling over. Sure enough, among the rows of dates, there’s a shelf labelled ‘Operation Hatoful’. 

 

“Oh….it’s empty….” 

 

Ruby nodded and sighed. “It would have been asking too much hope to find anything here.”

 

I stared at the shelf in contemplation. “I wonder what is Operation Hatoful...”

 

“Who knows?” Ruby shrugs. “But it was found in the document regarding the human representative, so it is doubtlessly nothing good.”

 

Is Operation Hatoful is connected to this medical center? And can it possibly be the source of all of this misery? Agh...my head hurts. I really wish we can solve this all really soon and get out of here alive.

 

Ruby then grabbed some records. “The only things left are….” He opened them, and huffed. “Archaic medical records.”

 

I went over there, then noticed an encyclopedia. What…?

 

“What is an encyclopedia doing here?”

 

“An odd place to keep one for sure,” Ruby remarked. 

 

I then took out volume 9, then realized that it was upside down. I turn it back up, seeing it was really 6, and looked at all the volumes. Another volume 6. What...

 

“Wait Ruby! There are two volume 6s! It might mean something!”

 

He looked at the book’s binder, then the row of encyclopedias. “Are you thinking that this unpleasant arrangement holds some meaning?”

 

I nodded. “I remember seeing no volume 6 in the library…”

 

“A bunch of old encyclopedias?” Ruby questioned.

 

I nodded. “They have the same bindings, so they have to be a part of it.” I opened the book, and saw the library sticker. “Look! It has the library sticker!”

 

“So it seems it may have came from the library…” he murmured.

 

“Someone must have brought it here when the medical center was still open, and switched it with volume 9….”

 

“What kind of mischief is that?” Ruby wondered. “Surely, there is no sensible reason to do that.”

 

I nodded, looking at all the volumes. “Yeah...the rest of them are in order too...we should go check out the extra copy of volume 9 when we return to the library. It might have something.”

 

“Hopefully, it wouldn’t be a waste of time,” Ruby muttered. “But anyway, we must continue to investigate the rest of this medical center.” 

 

We then leave the reference room, and searched throughout the medical center’s first and second floor. We founded an elevator, though it had no button. So there is basically nothing that lead to the basement.

 

“Hmmm...so if the elevator does not work…” Ruby commented, then walked to a certain direction. “Perhaps that wall might be blocking another way in?”

 

I looked at the direction, and saw a normal, gray, concrete wall, much different from the rest of the walls. I followed after him, and realized what he meant when considering the design of this building. “Oh! So you’re saying this was built to seal off the basement after the fire!?”

 

He nodded. “You are quite sharp for a peasant.” He then stared at the wall in deep thought. “Though this is quite a bit of a clean up for some fire…”

 

“I don’t think we might be able to break it,” I sighed. 

 

“If we can’t get in there, then I doubt we’ll find anything more of use in here,” Ruby concluded. “But at least we found out that this center may have some kind of connection with Gabena.”

 

I nodded. “Yeah, let’s–”

 

_ BANG! CRASH!  _

 

OH NO! 

 

“What was that!?” I hissed. “

 

“Someone had just broke into here,” Ruby whispered.

 

Oh gods....this could be bad. We might be facing someone more stronger than us, and we have no way out with the concrete wall behind us. I hope Ruby might be able to fight us our way out…either way, we gotta get to a window!   
  


“Come on! Stop dawdling!” Ruby cried, and I realized he was already flying away. 

 

“Sorry!” I cried back, and then started to fly after him.

 

Before we could make to a window however, a voice cried, “Stop!”, and something white with red and blue triangles covered my sight. Wait...white and red and blue triangles?

 

I looked up, and I saw a Togekiss, a wheel of Arceus hanging from his neck, a pool stick in his wing, and solemn golden eyes staring down at me with sorrow. What...

 

“Good day, honorable knights, I am the Golden Hearted Seraph of Arceus, Gold,” he greeted coldly.

 

I think I heard of him before…? Though either way, I think he might be our bird. He certainly fits the golden eyes, wheel of Arceus pendant, pool stick in his wing, and eccentricity Black described. I should be happy we found him...though I’m kind of more scared of his coldness.

 

“....I think I’m going to have a headache,” Ruby said, holding his head. 

 

Before I could ask Ruby if it was because of Gold’s fairy power, the Togekiss cried at me, “Textoris Melodia Funeris!”

  
I pointed at myself. “Me?”

 

“Good for you Cedrinus, he came all the way up here to give you a title,” Ruby sarcastically remarked, before his wing glowed in a gentle yellow light. “Ugh, my headache isn’t even relieved…”

 

“But anyway, Gold, do you know something about Y?” I asked, feeling my hopes lift higher. 

 

Gold’s sorrowful eyes clouded even further. “I do not know...if the knowledge I have of her...is sufficient and accurate.” He then looked above. “But gods, my beloved Edel Blau, if you are here...forgive me, for what I am going to do.”

 

Wait...WHAT!? I DON’T LIKE THIS! I DON’T LIKE THIS  _ AT ALL! _

 

His eyes then returned to me, a reluctant but resolute steel in them that made me scared, yet brave. “In accordance with the Pact of Old, I must seal you here now, Textoris Melodia Funeris, Undertaker. For the good of all.”

 

What kind of title is ‘Undertaker’!?

 

“So the time has come at last...I will not be stopped, Golden Hearted Seraph of Arceus! Come, and meet my flames!”

 

Suddenly, a golden beam of light flew into my eyes, leaving me only see white and black dots. When my vision returned, I then focused on the air around me, forming an invisible whirlwind. I then send it to Gold, before the whirlwind sliced him with blades. He screamed in pain, before preparing his staff.

 

“Cease this jack-acting you imbeciles!” something screeched, and suddenly, a crimson half-moon crashed into Gold, and something electrifying and scorching rammed into me. 

 

“AH!” I quickly looked around, seeing a rather shaken Gold and a fuming Ruby holding his head. “What happened!?”

 

“I am shocked, Cedrinus,” Ruby coldly said. “To think that even  _ you  _ would go along a farce like that!”

 

“Don’t interrupt such fateful battles, Seere Reprobus!” Gold yelled at Ruby. 

 

Wait...I got carried away by Gold before I even noticed! It seems his fairy powers are a lot more stronger than I thought...I should have natural resistance to them, but instead, I got pulled into his own reality...this is really terrifying….I’m not even sure if he’s our ally or enemy at this point.

 

“You! Togekiss!” Ruby suddenly screeched. “What did you come here to do!? After what you just did, you might be our prime suspect!”

 

“I came here to do but one thing! To follow the Demon Spores!” Gold declared. 

 

“A whole new variety of what the fuck are you talking about!” 

 

“Can you please explain in  _ normal Japanese!?”  _ Ruby asked, a gentle yellow light appearing on his wing that held his head again, this time more radiant.    
  


“The End is near…I must defeat it...I must ally with you two…” He then sighed mournfully, gazing at something far away. “But what use am I, when the darkness inside is moving violently in its slumber?”

 

Wait...uhhhh…..is he saying….

 

“Are you...sad?”

 

Gold stopped for a moment, before nodding. “Yes…the death of Edel Blau haunts me...I should have been quicker...I should have not stopped...I should not have hoped for Zeshiro to see her…”

 

Oh! This  _ is  _ the Togekiss Black saw!

 

“Gold, where were you yesterday after school!? What were you doing!?” Ruby cried, having stopped trying to nurse his headache. 

 

He grinned, which looked rather eerie with the sadness in his eyes. “Battling Minor Demons of Baal, and following the Demon Spores.”

 

Oh look, more crazy talk.

 

“Can you please rephrase that?” I asked.

 

His grin grew. “Rufa, the Tree of Blight, called out to me!” 

 

“He’s asking you to say it in words we understand!” Ruby cut in.

 

“Hallowed Magician of White...your anger now is the power of the Demon Spores!” Gold cried, sounding scared, though it’s obviously just him saying shit as the fear was very exaggerated.

 

“I think it’s the power of you, Gold…” I muttered.

 

Gold threw up his wings. “Okay, fine! I was in the place what the ignorant many calls the infirmary!”

 

YES!   
  


“We’re going to need to talk with you,” Ruby declared, grinning for once. “Now come, or I shall drag you!”

 

“I can fly perfectly fine on my own!” Gold protested, and we all fly out medical center.

* * *

 

“Yes, this is the Togekiss I saw,” Black confirmed, a relieved smile on his face.

 

Oh thank the gods! I can feel myself light on my feet!

 

“We need to know what you did yesterday,” Ruby started to Gold. “Did you go into the infirmary?”

 

He shook his head sadly. “If I could, I would have. I saw Edel Blau, who you know as Gabena Yvonne, ventured in, and when I tried to follow after, the gate was sealed by the Power of Darkness.”

 

“Y did went in!” I exclaimed, a sense of cold dread settling into me.

 

“Oh gods…” Black murmured, looking up as if begging the gods for some sort of mercy beyond the prison above us. Ruby was silent, staring at Gold with cold fury and despair I had never seen from him before. Gold himself seemed almost ready to cry, yet he was able to keep all of it at bay and manage a small nod. 

 

Y was in the infirmary yesterday after school. I didn’t want to think about it, but my worst fears were true. Rakutsu and Dr. Esprit were lying all along.

* * *

 

_ Fourth Class end. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't wait for the next chapter, kuhahaha...


	8. Fifth Class

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for murder, referenced abuse, mild gore, and all that good fun.
> 
> Maintenance Office: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrMNnYMQw8s&t=47s  
> Gold’s theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo8wCrwLejw  
> This Strange Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMHi6KqsG6E  
> The Scarecrow/Ambush and Confrontation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcVwmhfQxHk  
> Emma’s Challenge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md-XV1gOEcw  
> Rakutsu’s and Ruby’s Truth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roNGM9wJOnY

_Fifth class start._

* * *

 

_“You are different from those peasants, Ruby. You were chosen from the day you were born. You must remain conscious of this.”_

 

_“Yes, father.”_

 

_“We are the chosen ones. It is our duty to guide and protect the foolish commonfolk.”_

 

_“Yes, father.”_

 

_“Look at them, crawling in the mud. There is no value in their lives. Were it not for our compassion, they would die as miserably as they lived.”_

 

_“Yes, father.”_

 

_“Their very blood is tainted. Their world is not yours. You must never speak with them again. Do you understand?”_

 

_“...Yes, father.”_

* * *

 

_“To...Johto...?”_

 

_“Yes. You will be staying there for some time. Arrangements have already been made for your education. Remember, you must bring honor to our family, Ruby.”_

 

_“Yes, father.”_

 

_“Also, Dr. Esprit is in residence at the academy you will be attending. She is a prestigious doctor. It would not be exaggerating to say that our current glory is thanks in part of her. Do not disrespect her.”_

 

_“Yes, father."_

* * *

 

“Gold saw Y going into the infirmary...and….” I took a deep breath, trying to calm the flames that want to lash out against the cause of it all. “Then the door was locked.”

 

I took another deep breath, my heart pounding so hard that it made my chest ache. “The doctor and Rakutsu must have seen her. They’re lying. What happened in there?”

 

Mr. Emerald only gave a small nod, then returned to ponder deeply of the fearful thought in his mind. I didn’t turn to look at Ruby, who still remained coldly silent, fuming in anger and distress. Seeing him like this is terrifying and depressing. Ruby being angry already is kind of scary, but he’s vocal about it. Keeping it quiet _and_ being uncertain is even worse.

 

And I can’t blame him either. Even though I had been suspecting Rakutsu for a while, I don’t want to see it as something true. He helped us so much already...but the skills he has and Gold’s testimony definitely paint him in a more darker light.

 

“It seems Rakutsu was covering for the doctor…” I started.

 

“We don’t know that for sure,” Ruby coldly cut in. “That mongrel might be lying to cast doubt on Dr. Esprit…”

 

If it weren’t for the fact that Ruby’s very shocked from this, he might be right, and that I will get in trouble with Mr. Emerald having already left to his screen covered office and easily can witness it, I would have mauled him while on fire.

 

“Ruby….you’re the one who said we need to remove our biases,” I sighed, trying to not fume in rage. “And you’re right. Our biases will muddle this investigation, and we can’t afford that, now we’re running on a time limit. Stop letting that wool cover your eyes, and face the facts. Rakutsu’s likely not innocent, and so is the doctor. You may be right, but the evidence points to them most likely working together.”

 

Ruby went silent for a few moments, before saying, “I am aware.”

 

Doesn’t seem like it….

 

“But you know, with only that lunatic’s evidence, we can not confront them,” Ruby pointed out.

 

I nodded. “Yeah...and they will dodge the issue. They’re both very eloquent birds….”

 

Which means….

 

“We need to search the infirmary.”

 

“Do you intend to go in without asking?” Ruby questioned harshly.

 

“Well, yeah. The more stealthily we do it, the better, right?” I sighed. “If the doctor knows that, she’ll find a way to stop us for sure….”

 

Ruby stayed silent for a moment, before nodding slowly. “Understood. I will go to the lab to keep them occupied, while you search the infirmary.”

 

I let myself a smile. “Thank you, Ruby.”

 

“A moment, gentlemen,” Mr. Emerald said, and we turned around, seeing him going out of his office behind the screen with a gun, a key, and a bag in wing.

 

“Oh Mr. Emerald! What’s that?”

 

He smiled. “Some tools you will need. This key in my wing is able to unlock any simple lock in this school. The stun gun in my other wing. If your abilities can not help you in a dangerous situation, use it. It is very bright, so close your eyes when you use it. And the bag is full of Lum, Leppa, and Sitrus Berries, in the event that you require some healing.”

 

“You will have more use than I, Cedrinus,” Ruby said. “Hold on to them.”

 

“Thank you, Mr. Emerald,” I said with a smile. “But now, I should go take some notes before I leave to the infirmary.”

 

“All right. May the gods be with you two gentlemen.”

* * *

 

Glass shattered in the chemistry lab, as a golden eyed Togekiss landed onto the floor, his trusted staff in his wing, hatred and sorrow flaring in his eyes and in the aura around his staff. “The Hour of Judgement has come! You cannot use the Dark Tree’s power here. Return to the Void, Amura!”

 

“Well...you seem excited,” Faitsu remarked. “I wonder what the doctor is doing…”

 

Emma stared at the Togekiss nervously, before returning her composure. “...Being slandered by Mr. Higure as you can see.” She sighed, and gave him a stern glare, or at least, as stern as she can get. “Please stop breaking school property, Mr. Higure.”

 

The Togekiss’ hatred grew. “I have returned from my prison of ice to defeat you! As long as you live, Calamitous Sorcerer, the world will be wrapped in Eternal Despair!”

 

“When he says things with such conviction, I almost find myself believing in him,” Faitsu muttered bitterly.

 

Emma sighed distressfully. “Please...that isn’t funny.”

 

The Mandibuzz looked at the doctor in sympathy. “Ah...sorry doctor. I’ll take him back to the gym now. Come on, Higure.”

 

The Togekiss panicked as the Mandibuzz grabbed him by the neck feathers, opened the door, and walked out into the hall. “No, stop! Do not throw me out like some wretched doll! Sage of Nightmares! You too have the eyes to see my words!”

 

The door was then closed, and soon after, the floor was cleared of shattered glass and an ethereal orange barrier covered the broken window. Minutes after, Faitsu returned, a curious expression on her face as she settled herself on one of the stools.

 

“I wonder what is with his bizarre chants of a fantasy world, doctor.”

 

Emma shuddered, hoping that the Mandibuzz didn’t notice. “He was diagnosed of hyperfae-magus since birth. It’s an uncommon disorder present in exclusively Fairy types where their body produces more Fairy power than able healthily tolerate at a time. Its effects on the individual varies due to the capriciousness of such power, but his is a very rare and severe form of it. With it, it is able to completely delude his sense of reality. Even though he has been provided a device to remove such excess power and give him a normal life, he doesn’t seem to be fond of using it so much, preferring to live in his own world of bizarre fantasy.”

 

“It seems he’s quite active in the destruction of his surroundings,” Faitsu mused.

 

She nodded. “He has to find some way to vent the excess amount of fairy power from his body. And it just happens to be that he’s following the primal instinct of all Pokemon: the thirst for battle. After all, if he were to be affected by positive and stimulating emotions, he can release it safely and not suffer any damage to his body.”

 

Another shudder came onto her, and she prayed again that the Mandibuzz didn’t notice. “But the most dangerous part of his ability is that he is able to bring anyone and anything in his surroundings into his fantasy.” She then put a wing on her chin. “Though it seems I’m less affected than you, strange as we are both Dark types, and you’re much more hardy than I am.”

 

_“....And I wished that I didn’t invite him into this school, for his power brought me nothing but trouble.”_

 

Faitsu stared at Emma in suspicion, as if she was able to sense the doctor’s thoughts. Before the two could say anything more, the door opened, revealing a red eyed Altaria.

 

“Excuse me, Dorobo, Dr. Esprit,” Ruby greeted, as he closed the door and walked up to them.

 

“Oh hello Petalburg,” Faitsu greeted, a smile on her face. “What’s going on? And where is Cedrinus?”

 

“He is investigating another area at the moment,” he tersely answered.

 

Ruby then looked around the room, then realized that the bird he was looking for wasn’t there.

 

“Where is Masayoshi?”

 

“I think he’s walking around to calm his nerves again,” Faitsu replied, shaking her head. “He must have a death wish if he wanted to wander around so carelessly with the scarecrow out and about like that.”

 

“Not brave, just imprudent,” Ruby scoffed.

 

 _“Stupid mongrel! Stop pretending to be migratory and get back here so I can distract you!”_ Ruby angrily thought, but let himself relax. _“But at least they both don’t seem to realize we suspect them yet….The doctor should be enough.”_

 

“Dr. Esprit, I came here to ask your opinion on something.”

 

She gave him a stoic look. “My opinion? I’m afraid I will not be much use to you there.”

 

Ruby tried to not narrow his eyes at her. _“My body has never required me to visit the infirmary, so I never had much of an opportunity to talk with the doctor since I moved here. But I can read her expression perfectly well. ‘I am not telling you anything.’”_

 

“Where is Mr. Cedrinus?” the doctor asked, a strange expression coming on her face. “Did you two have a falling out?”

 

“No, he is merely investigating another area,” Ruby answered.

 

“Well that’s quite a relief,” she commented, then sighed mournfully. “A shame though, that Mr. Cedrinus is suspecting me based on nothing but his own prejudice…”

 

“ _You sound much more sadder than offended in this situation….”_ Ruby thought, before nodding. “I agree, ma’am. To doubt someone based merely on one’s own prejudices is...balivernes. It is nonsense.”

 

_“Something that I haven’t believed in for much of my life…were my teachings foolishness?”_

 

“I can not believe that someone as great and intelligent as you can be responsible for such a horrendous crime,” the Altaria continued, a grateful smile on his face. “You are of world renown, after all.”

 

“It is an honor to be praised by the heir to the powerful Petalburg family,” Emma replied, a sound of forced flatteredness in her voice.

 

_“Hrm...she sounds quite dishonest….no….I’m just hearing things.”_

 

A polite smile appeared on Ruby’s face. “I hold a deep respect for you, doctor. You might not be aware, but my father owes his life to your medicine. A few years ago...your work allowed the Petalburg family to continue onto even greater glory.”

 

She gave him a questioning look, mixed with forced interest. “Is that so? I’m afraid I know little of the fate of the drugs that I develop…”

 

“The life of but one bird may not be significant to you, but we, the Petalburg family, will never forget,” Ruby concluded, his smile grew in gratitude.

 

“Kuhahaha...it is wonderful to know of how my work helps others,” Emma said, genuine appreciation in her voice. “Though the way you talk about him, I assume that he is a bird of great respect?”

 

Ruby nodded eagerly. “Of course. The family head must always be honored.”

 

Sudden bitterness appeared in Emma’s calm blue eyes, nearly scaring Ruby into fleeing from the room and never return. “It would seem that you hold your biases even more dearly than Mr. Cedrinus, almost as if their the very foundation of your very existence.”

 

The spitefulness and _hate_ in her words scared him even more, but what made him truly felt fear is when Emma, with a hopeful and calm smile on her face, said cheerfully, “I hope to see you when that foundation collapses.”

* * *

 

Oh thank the gods I haven’t ran into the scarecrow. Though the door is locked...probably since this morning. The doctor went straight to the lab to begin the autopsy, and was with somebirdie else ever since, so that’s likely. Let’s hope the key Mr. Emerald gave to me work…

 

I put the key in, turning and shaking it a bit for a few moments, before making a satisfying click. Yes!

 

I pushed opened the door, revealing the infirmary in all of its creepy glory. I always hated going in here, but now, with few lights on, it’s even worse. I have to look for the evidence that Y was in here, quickly! But where do I start?

 

Hmmm...doesn’t she always tell her assistants and visitors to not touch her desk? I imagined it would be locked up tight….maybe this key would work.

 

I quickly ran up to the desk, and unlocked a drawer. Medical records. Expected to keep personal information locked away, which is kind of surprising for someone like her. But….they’re only four files. One, two three….there are only four files? And they belong to…

 

“Cedrinus Trevor, Gabena Yvonne, Evans Xavier, and Amachi Ruby.”

 

I’m not surprised to see me here, but why are Y and Ruby here!? They’re completely healthy people! And now, looking at X’s file, it says ‘Rainbow Wing’s Medical Center’ on the side, while the others don’t. The date is also five years ago. She probably took it from there. She probably knew something about the fire, since it’s now here.

 

Are the other three...records from physical exams? They all have strange numbers and letters, so I can’t understand them…

 

Huh? Ruby’s has a second piece of paper in it. It looks like some sort of memo or–  

 

“AGH!”

 

Something hard hit my head! Ahhhh...it hurts so much...the room’s getting dizzier...darker…

 

_Thump!_

* * *

 

“Urrghhhh….”

 

Where….am...I? It’s quite dark in here...no….there’s light….I feel dizzy...

 

I stood up, and looked around. It was rather blurry at first, but when my vision returned, I realized that I was in the infirmary. Why am I here….

 

Oh yeah! I was here to look for evidence that Y was in here! And...and….I found some medical records...about her, me, Ruby, and X! In the doctor’s desk!

 

I looked down at the drawer, and saw they were all gone. Gods damn it! Of course someone would take them! I got attacked! Even with that stun gun Mr. Emerald gave me and my evolution, I was unable to defend myself at all! Gods damn it!

 

Though now, I know those records are very important, even though we wouldn’t go very far with it. But what was in those strange letters and numbers that made someone want to knock me out and steal it? No doubt it was the criminal. Though I wonder if they left anything behind...doubtful, but worth looking for.

 

I closed the drawer and looked around under the desk. Wait….a card? I would have never notice that if I wasn’t on the floor….

 

I dragged myself forward, and pulled it out in the light. Oh….oh gods…

 

“This is….this is Y’s….”

 

There’s no mistaking it. Her smiling beautiful face is on there, next to her name. It would have been wonderful to see, if there wasn’t blood on the corner above it. It can’t have been dropped on accident in here….it happened here. I was correct about the doctor all along.   


But I still feel uncertain. This feels too good to be true, and that I have been led on all along. If the doctor were behind it all, surely she would make sure that she seemed innocent, would she? Just what does she want?

 

I want to say that I don’t care for who’s doing what and why, only to know who did that to Y, but I can’t. My curiosity just wants to know more. It doesn’t care if it’s making things less simple, it just wants to know and know until it gets satisfied.

 

But I can’t focus on that. I have to talk to Ruby, _now._

* * *

 

“...so you think it would take a fair amount of time to cut a human up like this and distribute into boxes, doctor?” I questioned to the doctor.

 

Dr. Esprit nodded. “Correct. Even if she were cut up last night and distributed the next morning, it would involve a good deal of physical labor.”

  
“Ruby?”

 

Finally Cedrinus returned. Being near the doctor after she uttered what seemed to be a threat has made me more nervous than I should.

 

I turned to him, seeing his eyes flaring with excitement and fear. “What is it?”

 

His eyes turned dreadfully solemn. “We have to go back to the maintenance room, _now_. We need to talk.”

 

He seems quite impatient.

 

“Very well.”

 

“A moment, Mr. Amachi,” Dr. Esprit interrupted. Strange, that she refers to me by my mother’s surname.

 

“Yes doctor?”

 

“Just an aside...but it would be impossible for one such as myself.”

 

How strange….

 

“Even with the knowledge and tools of a physician?” I inquired.

 

She nodded. “Yes, even with it. I have lost the use of my right side after all.”

 

“Oh yeah...” I heard Cedrinus murmured from behind. “She has been rumored to be weak there….”

 

Hmph...how did _I_ not know? Then again, Cedrinus possibly saw her more than I did.

 

“I lost it from an accident long ago,” she explained, her eyes coldly steel. “Though while it made me unable to fly for the rest of my life, I have no problems going through my daily life. I am half-Xatu, which fortunately makes my disability nearly nonexistent.”

 

She’s….she’s a mongrel!? No! She isn’t! She is one of the rare exceptions among her kind! One of deserving respect! She is a benefactor of the Petalburg family and its head’s savior! You should not mix her of the lowly! She is not of the lowly!

 

“But even with my powers, I am not naturally a Psychic type,” she continued. “So carrying a human corpse with one wing _and_ telepathy would be exhausting.”

 

Yes...she couldn’t have done it. She said it herself…or is she one of her kind, lying without a thought? No, you are a fool for thinking that.

 

“Yes, what she has stated is all true,” Dorobo agreed. “It’s recorded in the medical faculty records.”

 

“I see...well, let’s get going Ruby,” Cedrinus called.

 

I nodded. “Yes. We should.” I turned to the doctor. “Thank you for your time, Dr. Esprit.”

 

She smiled, though I thought I saw something strange in her eyes. “It is my pleasure, Mr. Amachi.”

* * *

 

As we walked through the halls, I explained to Ruby on what happened. He seemed to be more shocked and angry that Rakutsu could have potentially took another innocent’s life, though showed some worry of the implications from the ambush.

 

“So….Evans Xavier’s records and the doctors have something to do with the medical center?” Ruby asked.

 

I nodded. “It seems that way. I wonder about the other records too. Why are there files of you, me, and Y together? I don’t think that’s a coincidence, and that you had to go there since you moved here.”

 

Ruby nodded. “Nobility knows no illness, so I never did require the doctor’s aid.”

 

Just as I thought. I never seen him sick, and he’s always quite healthy.

 

“I didn’t really remember of the doctor’s injury…” I sighed. “Kind of a bad thing to find out now...learning she’s half-Xatu was also nice, but then…”

 

“Bad because it is inconvenient to your theory?” Ruby questioned with narrowed eyes. “We must remain just, Cedrinus. No harm can ever come from learning more of the truth.”

 

I nodded, thinking on how I didn’t remember of that weakness. I try to avoid looking at her whenever she’s nearby and I can get away with it, so I suppose that’s why I never noticed her disability. And this investigation made me forgot about her rumored weakness too….At the same time, my theory now holds some water.

 

“If she couldn’t have done it alone, it makes it seem more likely that she was working with Rakutsu,” I concluded.

 

“Blasted mongrel…” Ruby muttered. “No good can ever come of his presence. He merely confuses the issue.”

  
You just fucking said that we had to be just and fair you asseating–

 

“Salutations! Were you gossiping about me?” a soothing yet dreadful voice came into the hall.

 

“Oh hello Rakutsu,” I greeted, then noticed that he looked rather winded, like he was trying to chase after something...calm down Trevor. He’ll think you’re onto him.

 

“So it seems that I have become the topic of choice among the boys as well as the girls.” Rakutsu then airly laughed. “Not that I mind.”

 

One of those boys is your brother...

 

“Don’t let it get into your head, mongrel,” Ruby scoffed. “We weren’t saying anything good about you.”

 

“Well, in your point of view, you are subjected to vile slander and ill gossip,” I added.

 

“You are very frank, Trevor,” Rakutsu remarked, absolutely no pain in his eyes. “An admirable trait to have.”

 

“But I do have to question….what kind of slander?” He then shook his head, realizing that was a terrible decision for him. “Ah...perhaps you shouldn’t say, lest my fragile heart shatters like a maiden’s crystal glass, dropped by an unkind lover.”

 

He looks really relaxed, despite Ruby clearly showing his anger towards him, and me probably also doing that unintentionally. Must be because that so-called fragile heart is made out of used tires.

 

“Cease your blabbering, mongrel,” Ruby snapped. “We demand answers from you.” He started shaking, seeming almost ready to maul Rakutsu right there. “You lied. You met Gabena in the infirmary yesterday. Did you kill her?”

 

A sinister glint suddenly appeared in his eyes. “...So you doubt me. I like to see your evidence.”

 

THIS–  

 

I tried to not lash out at Rakutsu, instead giving him a firm glare. “I saw her ID card in the infirmary, with a bloodstain on the corner.”

 

“You are duty-bound to your answer,” Ruby continued, smoke coming out of his beak. “What did you see in the infirmary yesterday? And what did you do?”

 

Rakutsu gulped, a rather surprising sound from him, before sighing mournfully. “Well, I...can’t tell you anything. I’m very sorry. I….can’t say anything at all.”

 

What….

 

“Cease this foolishness!” Ruby snapped again, looking like he would actually jump on Rakutsu and beat the answer out of him any moment now. “You know something, don’t you!? Don’t attempt to dodge the–”

 

_CREEEEAAAAKKKK! Phrrrrr…._

 

“Hy...hyu...oh...oa….”

 

FUCK!  


“RUN YOU TWO!”

 

“Such terrible timing!” Rakutsu exclaimed in exaggerated, airy annoyance that made me want to smack his face. “Nobirdie likes a man who can’t read the atmosphere, Mr. Scarecrow.”

 

“Is this time for jokes!?” Ruby screamed. “RUN! GO!”

 

“YEAH!”

 

And with that, we all flew for our lives.

* * *

 

“Trevor seems to have left us in the dust….” that mongrel commented on the obvious, as we both stopped on the staircase. “...Maybe we should hurry up a little. But it doesn’t seem to have noticed us….not too keen on chasing birds, it seems.”

 

His arrogance and clear vileness makes it tempting to tear him into bits and pieces, but with nothing to prove, it holds me back. Wretched mongrel!

 

“Your idle flirtations sicken me! Filthy mongrel!”

 

“Shh!” he hushed, narrowing his eyes at me unjustly. “Do you want it to hear us!?”  


I kept silent, watching him carefully. He seemed to be thinking of something for a few moments, before saying, “How about this? I’ll go first, and lure Mr. Beanpole-Man towards the cafeteria. You head for the maintenance office while it’s distracted, okay?”

 

Why would he….

 

“You plan to act as a decoy?” I huffed. “Don’t think this will stop me from suspecting you.”

 

He shook his head, seemingly in bewildering sadness. “I wasn’t asking you to. I’ve been your ally up until now. Why stop doing that now?”

 

He calls us our ally!?

 

“What do you mean!?”

 

“Anyway, run for it as soon as we’re out of sight.” He then flew off into the bottom hall. “Adieu!”

 

What a wretchedly baffling bird….but I find no other option but to listen to him. What a foolish yet wise choice...

* * *

 

“Ruby, thank the gods!” I sighed in relief. “You’re okay! I was worried that maybe you would get caught!”

 

Ruby nodded. “...Indeed.”

 

I then realized he was alone. “Where’s Rakutsu? Wasn’t he supposed to be with you? We need him to answer our questions….”

 

Ruby shook his head and sighed. “I do not know. He went off in the opposite direction.”

 

Well shit.

 

“We don’t have much time left. We have to get to him as soon as possible, then we go confront the doctor.” I sighed, and shook my head. “He’s been helping us this whole time...but I don’t know if we can still consider him as our ally.”

 

“Our ally...indeed…” Ruby murmured.

 

Those words seem so foreign to him…it makes me feel kind of sad. The bird that he is taught to despise, and blamed for the disappearance of his cousin and best friend is his brother, and the one who had helped us try to find a way to escape from a certain death. But they never really were brothers, because of their superficial differences that seem so major in the eyes of Ruby’s father.

 

“You two always been have separated, have you?” I asked. “So you don’t really know how he acts, if he truly is capable in doing these kinds of things…”

 

“How could I know?” Ruby agreed, sounding regretful. “He and I live in different worlds. As my father said. I couldn’t know.”

 

I wish I can claw that guy’s face right now…poor Ruby and Rakutsu...

 

“I’m an only child….so I really don’t understand about having siblings…but I think I know how you feel about him.”

 

Ruby glared at me, though it was not as intense as before. “Do not make me repeat myself. He and I have no connection.”

 

He then relaxed, and sighed mournfully. “Er...I am...sorry...for doing that...but….I want to believe that...he is not my enemy.”

 

Ruby being apologetic would have been a surprise, if his clear uncertainty didn’t make me feel sad. He was always so confident and now...the prime suspects that had set everyone up to a death from the outside are the doctor who had saved his father’s life, and his own half-brother. If I were in the same situation, I wouldn’t be as calm as he is. I probably might be crying and having a nervous breakdown.

 

I turned to Mr. Emerald, who seemed to be sympathetic of Ruby’s plight, and sad about the situation too. After all, if I am correct, Rakutsu is his ally. He really doesn’t to think that his colleague could possibly be working with the enemy. But he doesn’t have anything useful to say to us now and we don’t have much time, so we better get going.

 

“I’m going to write down all we had found out into the notes, and then....we go to talk to the doctor...to find the truth.”

 

I pulled out my notebook and started writing. It’s good to know that we had figured out a lot of things...but there’s still so much that is left unsolved. I checked my Holo-Caster. 6 PM. Not much time left. I can feel my heart pounding. Can we really solve this and get everyone out of here alive in four hours…?

 

When I was done, I said, “Come on Ruby, let’s–”

 

He’s gone.

 

“Mr. Petalburg has already left, young one,” Mr. Emerald said gravely. “I highly advise for you to hurry up. Esprit Emma is a very dangerous woman.”

 

Gods...he possibly can’t…

 

“Thank you Mr. Emerald! See you!”

 

“May the gods be with you, young one,” Mr. Emerald called.

* * *

 

Father is of pure bloodline, and so his life is of utmost value. By extension, the doctor who saved his life must also be valuable, regardless of their bloodline. I must not disrespect her...because that is what my father told me. My brother, born of a low father, is a worthless being. Though he looks noble, his veins flow with filthy, impure blood of both water and dragon. I must not associate with those of low birth...because that is what father told me.

 

But I am no longer sure...he claims that humans are savage, blood-tainted, mindless beings that must all be killed, but Gabena never lashed out against anyone. The doctor should be respected above all, but it seems it’s entirely possible that she is a vile and callous bird who hides it with all the achievements she made for the good of others. Perhaps Cedrinus was right...perhaps she, along with everyone else, are capable of good and bad….but he’s just a lowly common folk. He is a fool, and always will be.

 

What is blood? Why does it divide us so? Why does it divide me, him, Gabena, and Cedrinus? Are we really that different? Is Father right? Or was he wrong all along?

* * *

 

“Oh hello, Petalburg,” Dorobo greeted so airly, it would have been irritating, if I didn’t have a more severe situation to handle.

 

“...where is the doctor?”

 

“She said she was going back to the infirmary. Probably forgot something there?”

 

What is she planning….

 

“Thank you.”

 

Suddenly, concern and sadness in her eyes. Unnerving to see as she usually is so carefree, so much like that blasted mongrel. “You’re going right after her? Don’t you want some tea?”

 

I shook my head. “No thank you. I must go.”

 

She frowned, the sadness more prevalent. “Well...be careful…”

 

I nodded. “I will.”

 

With that, I left, hearing Dorobo murmur to herself, “He looks rather troubled...I hope he’s all right.”

* * *

 

When I opened the door, I saw the doctor there, sitting on her desk and looking down at something. What is she planning….you came here for that, Ruby. Best to ask her it now.

 

“...Hello, doctor.”

 

She stood up from her seat, a concerned look on her face. “Hello, Mr. Amachi. You look rather tired. Do you mind resting here for a while?”

 

Such words should put me at ease...but there is something...ominous in those words.

 

“...Are you...are you wrong, doctor?”

 

She tilted her head to the side. “Whatever do you mean?”

 

She’s going to keep avoiding and avoiding the matter, is she?

 

I took a deep breath, then gave her my best stern glare. “I wish to learn the truth. What did you and Masayoshi do? Which one of you decided to kill Gabena?”

 

She gave me a stern glare, almost looking threatening. “That is something you say with proof, Mr. Amachi.” She then shrugged. “But….we have little time left. So I suppose I should explain all of this to you now.”

 

Her terrifying gaze softened into of calm earnestness...or of complete stoicness. “I did not kill Ms. Gabena. That is the truth.”

 

Yes….yes it is. How...how could I let myself be swayed by idle rumors? The doctor is not capable of such atrocity. But...is Cedrinus correct? Is she capable of being able to lie?

 

“Mr. Masayoshi did not kill her either. That is also the truth.” She then put a wing on her chin. “So if it was neither of us...who did?”

 

WHAT!?

 

“Masayoshi admitted in being part of the crime! He cannot possibly be–”

 

“I only said that neither of us killed her,” the doctor interrupted, the calmness fading away into stony coldness. “I never said neither of us were involved.”

 

Wh...what….

 

“If neither of you killed her….but you two were involved?”

 

I felt myself shaking, my heart pounding. Undignifying of a noblebird, but blood can not defend me from the death outside….or within.

 

“But then….who killed her?”

 

She sighed in very exaggerated irritation, then gave me a forced smile. “Oh dear….I just realized talking with you will make me fall asleep. And I have insomnia too. A dubious miracle, isn’t it?” She laughed, in a very taunting matter. “As expected, from a mere mongrel.”

 

….What did she just say?

 

“...Doctor–”

 

“Can you please be quiet, Mr. Amachi?” she asked, what seemed to be anger forming in her eyes. “You bore me, you filthy….low-born….mongrel. Just like Masayoshi….just like me.”

 

What kind of vileness–  

 

“Wha….what are you saying!? I am not like Masa–”

 

“Kuhahahaha!” she laughed, sounding almost mad. “Your arrogance and ignorance amuses and hurts me! I suppose your “father” taught you well, did he!? Hadn’t I bothered saving his pitiful tail feathers, he would be spitting in my face just for daring to have a Xatu mother!” She then sighed mournfully. “But what do I expect, than those who deem themselves mightier than the others? Higher, stronger, more blessed, the chosen of their make-believe gods…”

 

Wh….what? WHAT!? WHAT IS–  

 

She gave me a cheerful smile, which sent a chill down my spine. “You did well, Mr. Amachi. Thanks to you, Mr. Cedrinus has found almost everything he needs. Just one more push, and he’ll be done. Thank you, Mr. Amachi.”

 

Suddenly, I saw yellow sparks on her left wing. I turned to look at her face, to see a mad, deranged grin of a bloodthirsty murderer. “Oh...and I’m sorry on what I had said to you and what I will to do you.”

 

Suddenly, dark blue covered my right side. When it vanished, I felt myself stiff and numb all over my body. I then saw an orange light cover her left wing. A glint of white steel. It’s slowly coming to me. Oh gods...someone...SOMEONE HELP ME!

 

…..

 

…..

 

…….?

 

Wh...WHAT!?

 

“Masayoshi!”

 

That wretched mongrel...no...my brother...saved me?

 

“What are you doing, Essentia!?” he cried, shaking and breathing heavily. “I told you to not to touch my little brother!”

 

Masayoshi Rakutsu blocked out the light, but it was apparent in the darkness that crimson blood was spreading all over the floor. With some struggle, I felt my chest for any wounds or blood. None…? So whose–  

 

The Swanna turned around, his constant airy grin still on his face, but it was clear it was pained. Blood covered the right side of his chest, shockingly staining the calm blue and white. “Ruby, are you okay?”

 

I could barely manage a nod, when that wretched witch laughed in perverse joy. “Such beautiful, brotherly love, Mr. Masayoshi. You were the real hero all along of course. And I only promised to not tell this to other people, not that I wouldn’t kill him myself...or that I wouldn’t kill him.” She sighed mournfully. “And after all that work to steal the records from Mr. Cedrinus too.”

 

Ominous silence hung in the air for a moment, before he let out a shaky, mournful laugh. “Hahah...I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you. You were always like this, Essentia. A coward, and a villain to the core.”

 

“Don’t talk to me like you’re the better one, Masayoshi,” the doctor suddenly snapped, and I saw that there was, without doubt, pure and utter _fury_ in her eyes. “I wouldn’t consider trying to kill a loved one because she knew too much brave or heroic.”

 

Those words baffled and scared me. He’s shaking so much now...I never seen him like this. Did he really….

 

“What….what are you doing all of this...doctor? Why? Why are you doing all of this!?”

 

She sighed very irritatedly. “As I had told you, you bore me and helped Mr. Cedrinus enough. You no longer have any use to me. Do you really think I have enough patience to just let you run around, babbling like a child when you have done enough?”

 

I can’t believe….they were right all along...but why?

 

“I...I do not understand. W-what did you and Masa–”

 

“This is exactly what I’m talking about,” she suddenly snapped. “I have no responsibility to explain all of this to you. Goodbye, Mr. Amachi.”

 

“NO!” he cried angrily, watching her as she started to run away from us. I was about to chase after he, when I heard him cry, “Ruby, don’t move!”

 

Suddenly, Cedrinus bursted into the room. His eyes widened at me and the doctor. The doctor froze in her run, then said, “Oh hello Mr. Cedrinus. We were just talking about you.”

 

Cedrinus narrowed his eyes at her, and for the first time today, I saw flames engulfing him. “Doctor! I knew it was you all along!”

 

Even with the back of her head towards me, I can tell a depraved grin was on her face. “Kuhahaha...was it? Was it really? I would have expected you to see things in a much less simpler way, Cedrinus. You do have a brilliant mind, after all. A shame, that it was dulled by the cruelties of life.”

  
I turned to Masayoshi, who was breathing heavily and holding his wound tightly. Oh gods…

 

“Masayoshi! Say something! And stay here as long as possible! We’ll get you help!”

 

“Don’t worry, he won’t die just yet,” the insufferable demon said, her irritated face turned to us. “He has one or two more secrets to tell, so you can enjoy that.”

 

I saw Cedrinus was about to attack her from behind, when the loud sound of metal being dragged across the floor and creaking came from outside. Oh gods, it’s–

 

“THE SCARECROW!” Cedrinus cried, stopping himself from the attack.

 

A small, triumphant smile crept on her face, as she turned to that ghastly creature. “Oh hello Labor 9. I had been waiting for you. Come, let’s go.”

  
“Ah…..ahhhh…”

* * *

 

So the scarecrow was the work of the doctor all along. I’m not surprised at all. But what kind of name...

 

She turned to me, an obnoxiously pleasant smile on her face. “Just a little more, Mr. Cedrinus. Do you think you can remember it soon? I hope you do.”

 

I can feel my body grow hotter than I ever had been before, but I didn’t care. This woman needs to go. “Stop...running...AWAY!”

 

I charged at her, but in an orange blur, I saw her gone. I then felt the hard surface that was a shelf with many bottles, some of them from above dropping onto my head. I felt my body’s heat fading away, followed by embarrassment of my situation.

 

But I forgot it all, when I heard her voice, her evil, taunting voice that I wanted to burn all away, said, _“I shall be waiting beneath the surface. Come, and chase after me, Mr. Cedrinus!”_

 

Gods fucking damn it...she’s gone...and when I turn to the door, so is the scarecrow…

 

“I know...what you’re thinking…Cedrinus,” I heard Rakutsu weakly call. “The beanpole man...and the doctor...should not be chased after alone...a good man...must always keep his cool…”

 

“D-don’t speak!” I heard Ruby stammer for the first time since I met him. “You’re still bleeding!”

 

“I’ll get Mr. Em–”

 

“No need...Trevor,” Rakutsu called, more weaker than before. “I’ll be fine. Who the hell do you think I am? I...know my limits. But Ruby needs a Lum Berry….”

 

I opened my bag and threw a Lum Berry at Ruby, who immediately caught it in his mouth and swallowed it. Instantly, he started trying to heal Rakutsu, but he was quickly stopped.

 

“Don’t worry...Ruby...no little scalpel will hurt me...and we’re running out of time...I have to tell you everything…this might be our last chance...after all.”

 

What!? Why is he refusing the opportunity for help!? But...I suppose answers would be good. After all...it’s just a scalpel...right? I don’t know what’s his plan...especially with that “last chance”...

 

“It’s too late, Masayoshi!” Ruby snapped. “Why didn’t you tell all of this to us earlier!?”  


He let out a sad, soft laugh. “Ahahah...we had...a deal...but of course...she broke it. But she...was right...neither of us...didn’t kill her...that is the truth.”

 

Wh...WHAT!? HOW, WHY–  

 

“B-but...w-why–”

 

“She died...in this room...after school...yesterday...that is also the truth.”

 

Ruby stared at him in shock. “Then...who…”

 

Rakutsu weakly nodded. “Yes...right as always...Ruby.”

 

WHO!? WHO ARE THEY?

 

“Who’s the third person!? Who was it!?” I tried to not run up to him and grab him by his neck. “Tell me!”

 

Rakutsu turned to look at me, and I saw poignant sorrow and regret in his eyes. “...I’m so sorry Trevor and Ruby, but I can’t tell you that. You’ll have to figure that out...yourselves...”  


Gods damn it!

 

I then saw tears forming in his eyes, as he slowly turned to Ruby, then to me. “And...I have to apologize. To both of you. I’m so sorry...for cutting her up with the doctor...it had to be done for the timing...to get the humans gathered up…”

 

Horror covered Ruby’s face, as I felt bile crawl up my own throat. Y...desecrated like this...was…

 

“You...stuffed her in...those boxes?”

 

He nodded sadly. “I was forced to...by the doctor…” I saw anger flared in his eyes. “Gods damn her into the deepest pits of hell....and gods damn me there too.”

 

I saw steam come out of Ruby’s beak, though it made me more sad than angry. “Don’t say that Masayoshi! Such dreadful declarations can–”

 

He laughed sorrowfully. “We’ve been separated for so long...that you don’t know how I truly am the wretched mongrel...you were taught to see in me.” He turned to me, making my heart hurt when I saw him cry. “I...have to apologize...to you both...for hurting Wally...and to you...Trevor...for hurting Shauna.”

 

What...Shauna...Wally? He knows something about their disappearances?

 

Ruby stared at him in shock and eager yet sad curiosity. “What does Wally have to do with this!?”

 

I nodded. “And what does Shauna have to do with this too?”

 

More tears fell from his eyes. “Shauna was a Staraptor agent that I had...a very close friendship with. She went missing one day, and I got a ransom letter...the kidnapper demanded for me to come into the forest and confess my crimes...or she would be killed.”

 

WHAT!? SHAUNA WAS–RAKUTSU TRIED TO–

 

He shook his head angrily. “I should have known it was a trap...the kidnapper was just an illusion...I tried to kill her in blind rage...but the doctor saved her and had all of it recorded...she threatened to release it to everyone, if I didn’t comply to her demands…”

 

I shakily turned to Ruby, who seemed conflicted about this all. Not only the doctor who helped his family caused all of this...his brother who had helped us all is also a criminal...maybe he truly did love his brother all along, but was forced to bear the prejudices of his father…

 

He wiped away some tears. “Mr. Emerald...knew about this...so he requested for Wally to come here and take on my job…”

 

WALLY WAS A TOGEKISS!? SHAUNA WAS A STARAPTOR!? RAKUTSU WAS REALLY A TURNCOAT TOGEKISS!?

 

He laughed sadly. “But in the end...the doctor got to him. And now, he’s in the Togekisses’ infirmary...maybe never able to fly again…”

 

Oh...oh gods...poor, poor Wally…and poor Ruby...he was right all along, to an extent...but he doesn’t enjoy knowing that…

 

“It seems I had...stayed on the fence until the very end...too cowardly...to go any other way.” He laughed, more sorrow than before. “If only...I had the courage...to choose...maybe it would be...different….”

 

Rakutsu then let out a shaky cough, making Ruby stammer out, “I-i thought y-you were s-supposed t-to b-be f-fine….”

 

A small, sad smile formed on Rakutsu’s face. “You don’t love knowing that...your brother was a...wretched...mongrel...all along...and you worry...for me...even when you know that. I’m...honored…”

 

Ruby looked like he wanted to deny it, but it’s clear that there was no more strength in him to do so. He really does love his brother…

 

Rakutsu weakly turned towards me, his usually carefree blue eyes completely clouded with solemnity and red. “Trevor...can you go back to the...maintenance office first? We’ll return there soon…I just want to...talk with Ruby...alone.”

 

I nodded. “Yes...Rakutsu.”

 

He laughed weakly. “No...don’t call me Rakutsu...it’s just Blake.”

 

Blake sounds so...normal on him. I can never imagine that name on a bird like him...And from the look on Ruby’s face, he seemed to not know that either...

 

I then slowly walked out of the door, praying that whatever comes from Rakutsu...everything will work well between them.

* * *

 

His name...his name is Blake...ha...how ignorant I was of him...to not know his true name…Cedrinus is gone...what does he want to say? He looks more hurt than ever...what secret is he hiding? Is it more dreadful than the truth to Wally’s disappearance? His attempted murder of someone he loved?

 

I feel dizzy...even more undignifying of a noble...but does blood matter at this moment?

 

“....I know...that you want to know…” He then let out another shaky cough that I wanted to heal, but the fool didn’t let me so. “But my confession...is a long...and regretful one...I dreaded saying it for years...ran away from it even...so please...listen, not as the Petalburg’s heir...but as Ruby…”

 

...What does he mean? What is he saying? I am both...but no use to think. I should listen now...

* * *

 

_You have a new father, Blake. He has a beautiful mansion, and you will be moving there tomorrow._

 

_But he doesn’t want your brother. He says he can only take you in if you leave the egg behind._

 

_Mother is sad. He is her son, too._

 

_I will go. I will throw away my brother, mother. Give me the egg._

 

_The new father killed my father. I know he did. He killed him so he could take away mother from him._

 

_I waited. Until she laid a new egg. The egg with the new father’s child inside it…_

 

_I had hid him away in the mansion. And I switched them. The gods were merciful enough to have him as a Swablu. So he will raise my brother as his own son. The new father hates me. But he will love my brother. He will give him nice food, nice clothes, and a nice bed._

 

_My brother will not know. No one will know but me._

 

_I hate the new father. I took the new egg....and smashed it._

* * *

 

“I’ve...always thought of...telling you. Even though I dreaded it...I had to...one day...The doctor did not lie. You’re...the same as me, Ruby. The same as her. We were never half-brothers...you are my true brother.”

 

H...how...was my life...just all…

 

“I...I can’t be! I am the heir of the Petalburg family...it’s...it’s impossible! Father told me so! Everybirdie told me so! This is my purpose! My only purpose in life!”

 

He shook his head, sighing sadly. “If father...no...Petalburg...found out...he would have thrown you away…”

 

No...no he wouldn’t...this is a lie...I am his true son...I am his true son...only dragon blood flows in my veins...right?

 

“I did it for you…” He shook his head. “No...maybe I didn’t...maybe I just did it to spite that man...I am a selfish bird...after all. But that...that was the burden I must bear. It was never your problem. I was just happy...to see you live in luxury...to be loved and pampered…” He sighed. “Even if I...have to see her beautiful face...be disgusted at me...not for hurting her...but for the blood on my wings….even if I...have to betray...the ideals of my work...the only real father I can ever have...just to protect you...I just...want to see you...happy…”

 

He...he...why…why...whywhywhywhywhy–

 

“Under what kind of authority...made you…”

 

A small, bitter grin covered his face. “Ahahha….none. Only me. I’ve always only listened to myself...but the doctor...she must have noticed. She must have realized...and now...I only listen to her. It must be the price...of taking your lineage.”

 

He sighed, and I saw some tears fall from his eyes. “The fact that I have killed Petalburg’s child...will never leave me. I’ve never been able to forget...even when I tried to...all I became was a hollow, heartless bird...but I suppose that’s what helped me through it. I can’t ever reverse what I did...so I must press on.”

 

He is...he is telling the...truth…but he...he….

 

“I’ve always...worried about...whether I should tell all of this...to you...and now...it’s too late.”

 

“Y-you...you only deny me of my lineage now!?”

 

He nodded weakly. “I’m sorry...Ruby...I should have told you...long ago...I was never as sure of myself...as you…”

 

Then who…what...

 

“Then who am I? If I’m not the true heir...of the Petalburg family…”

 

He let out a small, weak grin. “Ahahahha...I’d knew you asked that….straightforward, as always…leave this place, Ruby. Think long and hard on who you truly are. Family is not the center of your life. There is more out there...to enjoy and to worry...than you ever know.”

  
“No! Wait, Masa–Blake! There is still so much for you to tell me!”

 

Please...please gods...don’t let him die! There’s so much to learn...so much time lost….

  
His grin turned bitter. “Haha...it’s been so long...since we’ve talked like this…I talked to you every day...like this...when you were an egg…”

 

“Pull yourself together, Blake!” I cried, knowing full well my words mean nothing. “You can’t leave like this! You said it yourself! A little scalpel won’t kill you! Come up! I will–”

 

The grin turned sorrowful. “I...have to apologize for that too...remember the headmaster? That was nerve toxin…”

 

WHAT!? GODS, NO–

 

“You mean, that scalpel had–”

 

“Go on, Ruby,” he whispered. “Go on, and leave your heartless, liar brother alone...the doctor has a way out of here...save yourself...and everyone here...and know...that you are yourself. Never...let anyone say or do otherwise….”

 

I saw more tears coming from his eyes, a genuine, happy smile on his face that made me want to cry too. “I love you...Ruby...and I’m sorry...for everything I’ve done…” He looked up into the ceiling, more tears falling. “Even if you can’t hear me...please...forgive...me...”

 

His eyes then closed, the smile and his tears still on his face. Gods...gods please…

 

I felt tears falling from my own, and I threw myself over him. “BLAKE! BLAKEEE! WAKE UP! PLEASE! WAKE UP!”

 

Such action I would never do, hadn’t he told me the truth. But it doesn’t matter. My brother...is dead.

* * *

 

_Fifth class end._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be very short. And then it will be long again. But anyways, have an early happy new year!
> 
> Edit: That awkward moment when you forget to say happy birthday to one of the best Spe girls. Happy birthday Moon! It still technically is over here anyways.


	9. Sixth Class

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maintenance Office: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrMNnYMQw8s&t=47s  
> X’s theme/His Memories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExeY005bXSc

_ Sixth class start. _

* * *

 

It’s 6 PM. I haven’t had much of a sense of time passing since the dome appeared, but it just seems so fast. It’s evening already. That seemed prevalent in the room, with the heavy tension in the air. Despite that ruining our appetites, Mr. Emerald had left us two bowls of herbs and berries to eat for dinner, which I tried to eat up as quickly as I could. He seemed to be looking for something now, and Ruby’s sitting on the futon, nibbling on a small bowl of herbs and berries as he brooded on what happened with Rakutsu. I don’t know the details, but I certainly know something bad happened. Already bad enough to know who Shauna and Wally really are…

 

“The doctor said that she’d be waiting below the surface…” I tried to ignore her taunting voice echoing in my mind, and swallow down my food. “Does this building have a basement?”

 

“Not on the official plans, at least,” Mr. Emerald piped up, poking his head from the screen. “But it’s possible.”

 

“It could be the one under the medical center, but it’s probably made of metal that blocks her psychic powers….”

 

“It doesn’t seem to me that it’s an entirely independent building,” he pointed out. “Is there anywhere else that you’re missing?”

 

Missed….or forgot. Somewhere I forgot to look into?

 

Oh yeah! The encyclopedia from the library and in the medical center! And the chronology and the medical records! I have to talk with X again! 

 

I scarfed down all of my food, trying to not choke. “I’m going to go check on something.”

 

Mr. Emerald smiled. “That’s the spirit.”

 

I turned to Ruby. “Ruby, do you want to go?”

 

He shook his head slightly. I now really wonder what happened in there…hopefully not what I think it is.

 

“All right, it’s okay. Bye!”

 

“Bye, Mr. Cedrinus, may the gods be with you.”

* * *

 

“......”

 

“I know. I’m worried about that too.”

 

“.....”

 

“You’re fading away again. Where are you….?”

* * *

 

“X! There you are!” I cried. 

 

X turned around, glaring at me irritatedly, though he also seemed to be sad. “What is it?”

 

I took a deep breath. “I’ve found a lot about the school...and you.”

 

He nodded, and the glare disappeared, a thoughtful look replacing it. “I see. So I assume you know who I really am.”

 

I shrugged. “Sort of. I’m here to ask you questions though.”

 

The first five years and the dome today. How are they related? X must know the secrets of this school. 

 

“You...really aren’t here, are you?”

 

He shrugged. “It might be. It might not.”

 

He really has no idea at all...I wonder….

 

“I saw, in the school records. It says you died, five years ago. In an accident at the medical center.”

 

He grimaced and looked away. “...I had become aware of that. This is where I chose my fate. Though I think I may have some kind of unfinished business...that’s why I’m stuck here.”

 

What kind of...unfinished business? And why did he...

 

“I know for certain that I took my life on my own will. Almost certain.”

 

So...he may have caused the accident, or at least, decided to die in there on his own will.

 

“But why?”

  
He hung his head in silence. It seems that he can’t remember everything before he died…

 

“I’m sorry that I’m asking you this, especially when you seem to not remember all the things that happened before you died...but I need to know a way to the basement under the medical center. I just need some kind of clue...some way to get there….”

 

The sooner I can confront the doctor, the better I can get to the bottom of this and get justice for Y….

 

“I remember seeing an encyclopedia in the medical center. It had a library sticker, so it must have came from here. I remember seeing there were only two volume 6s in there, and two volume 9s.”

 

I took a shaky, deep breath. A stretch, but I must try and hope. “Did you switch those two volumes? I know you must have went to the medical center often when you were alive...but…”

 

He nodded, a confused look on his face. “Why would I….”

 

I nodded in agreement. “That’s what I want to know too.”

 

X began to think for a moment, then suddenly, realization hit him, and his strange pupils started glowing. He turned to the encyclopedias, a hopeful, contemplative look on his face, before flying towards its shelf and taking out a volume. A small hint of the painfully bittersweet smile was on his face when he turned to me. “Mr. Cedrinus, try...reading this copy of volume 9.”

 

I nodded eagerly, flying over to him, taking the book from his hands and opening it...to see it’s a box...full of files? 

 

“A...box?”

 

It looks so much like book when closed! I wonder who came up with that idea to store files like these in here….

 

I skimmed through the files, all of them dated 5 years ago. They might have something about Operation Hatoful…

 

I stopped when I saw X pointing at a file. “Mr. Cedrinus, what does that one say?”

 

“Hm?”   
  


I picked up the file, and there it was. Operation Hatoful. When I read further of it, it talked about using carrier individuals as biological weapons to fight humans. It shares the same name as the one in the Mr. Oak’s office...

 

“Gods... this school...has been used for biological weapon development...for five years.”

 

X nodded solemnly, as I continued reading, my wings shaking.

 

_ “X180: new strains of the Sumatera influenza isolated.” _

 

_ “X183: a new strain has been isolated from Evans Xavier. It is considered lethal to humans, and has been named the Charon Virus after its founding scientist. It is entered into Rainbow Wing’s Medical Institute.” _

_   
_ “Charon...Virus….” X muttered, and I realized he was shaking. “...Humans I met...would always get...very sick…”

 

He’s...he’s remembering something...and it’s not a good memory…

 

He nodded shakily. “...I think so. I think it was me who...brought that box in here. The birds with me...in the medical center...often did secret things in the reference room.”

 

He was quiet for several moments, before he spoke again. “I wanted to tell someone...someone important...what was happening in the center…”

 

He was quiet again, deep in thought. “...who was it? My family…? It must have been my family…”

 

He can’t even remember that bird...that bird he loved so much...

 

I thought I saw tears in his eyes, his shaking more noticeable. “Yes...that’s right...I...had to burn. I had to...disappear….why didn’t I notice? Did I need your help...to see?”

 

I think he’s talking to me...but he’s looking somewhere far off...who is he talking about?

 

He started pacing to himself, muttering so fast that I couldn’t catch any words. I can’t exactly blame him...I would be having a nervous breakdown too if I started remembering a past that I rather forget.

 

“Do you remember...everything?”

 

He nodded, looking almost ready to burst into tears. “Yes...yes I do. I remembered everything. Remembered what happened here five years ago...I must...tell you...everything...from the start.”

 

“Do you want to take a seat?” I asked, walking over to the table. “Maybe it will calm your nerves…”

 

He nodded quickly, and ran over to the table, taking a seat. I followed soon after, and after several deep breaths from X, he said, “Well...here it goes...of the story of my life….as Evans Xavier.”

* * *

 

_ I can’t remember my parents’ faces. I lived in an orphanage with other birds my age before I could remember...I never thought much of it at the time, but apparently everybirdie there was a war orphan.  _

 

_ But I did not resent the humans who started the war. I did not care. I thought that living with other chicks with no parents were as natural as can be. _

 

_ One day, that endless routine broke. Some humans broke into the orphanage. They had guns, and kept shouting, ‘Free humanity. Free humanity.’ Or at least, that’s what I think they said.  _

 

_ They barricaded themselves in our house, and killed us one at a time. I was helpless. I could only hide and cry as my family was killed before my eyes.  _

 

_ I don’t know how much time had past since they came. When I looked around the silent room, they were all collapsed on the floor.  _

 

_ Birds had come to save us. They had come and killed the evil humans. That is what I thought. But… _

 

**_“You have been granted a great power. You are one of the chosen few.”_ **

* * *

 

_ I left the orphanage with my one surviving sibling, and we lived in an apartment. But I was weak, and I couldn’t go to school or get a job. I know I had battled in tournaments for some extra money, and was in the center of attention for a brief time, but I had to quit because of my weak health. When I did, all I became was a burden. _

 

_ And then I received the invitation.  _

 

_ “We wish to welcome you with special treatment. How would you like to study at the world’s most foremost avian school? We will provide anything you need. Anything at all. There is a hospital on the school grounds. We will provide a room for you to live there. You shall receive all the care you require.” _

 

_ I was living with my sister. I did not want to leave her. But if I continued to live with her, I will only hold her down. She was happy to hear that I would have a chance to improve my physical condition. She worked so hard and spent so much time and money trying to do so, and now, there is the chance right there. And so, I enrolled to Rainbow Wing…. _

 

_ I was still weak, so I often stayed in my room. I had no friends, but I was not sad. The nurses and the faculty were all kind to me. I remember especially of the doctor, the kindest and understanding of them all. I thought she was the most beautiful bird I ever saw.  _

 

_ But then...one day, early in summer vacation, she gave an offer to me.  _

 

_ “This vacation is perfect opportunity for intensive treatment. Do you want to go through it? You will have to stay inside for some time, but by the end of the summer, you should be healthy as any bird your age.” And so began a long summer in the underground facility. First, a routine of daily examinations and many medications.  _

 

_ Then...the experiments began. The experiments to kill humans. A human would be brought to me. They would struggle, and gasp. And with a last, painful sigh, they collapsed, unmoving an dead. _

 

_ I knew why I was brought here. Living in my body was a virus that would destroy any human near me in a matter of minutes.  _

 

_ My parents, whose faces I never remembered, killed by humans. My siblings of the orphanage were killed by humans. Simply by standing in the same room as me...by breathing the same air as me...they would die. _

 

_ I couldn’t stand it. I have many reasons to hate them, but watching them die, one by one, in front of me...it made my heart broke, little by little. _

 

_ So I decided to end it all. End the experiments. End the death. Disappear from this world, without a trace. That’s my only wish, my only desire. _

* * *

 

I watched him sniffed, wiping away some tears, unable to think of anything else. Gods...he...he lived such a horrible life...and he chose to die...even though he didn’t want to...for the greater cause. What kind of strength...did he have?

 

“The...the...Charon...Virus….the deadly guest that lived in my body...they undoubtedly tried to use its abilities to destroy all of humanity….”

 

“So...that...was Operation Hatoful…” I murmured.

 

What a horrifying...despicable…

 

“Yes...yes it was…” X wiped away some more tears, shaking more than ever. “That’s why...I had burned it all...five years ago. There should have been nothing left, but….”

 

He shook his head. “I am not here. I know that is the truth. But I think that maybe...just maybe...there’s still something left...somewhere.”

 

X then stared out at the door, a contemplative, fearful look in his eyes. “I think...I can sense…”

 

What….

 

He shook his head again, then turned to me. “You want to go to the basement, correct?”

 

I nodded, trying to not angry at the doctor’s taunting voice echoing in my mind. “To get answers for Y’s death and everyone out of here alive, I have to meet the doctor there. That’s where she said she’ll be.”

 

I thought I saw a flash of anger in X’s eyes. “...I see. I think they might have a map in this box….”

 

I digged a little bit into the files, skimming a bit, until I saw a folded piece of paper. Maybe it has something important. I unfolded it, revealing a map of the medical center. 

 

“Oh!”

 

“When I was in there, I went in through the medical center. But I’m certain that there is a passageway connecting it to the main building, somewhere near here.”

 

I scanned the map, catching sight of what seemed to be the gym. The stairs seems to go into…

 

“I think that it’s in the chemistry preparation room,” X piped up. “The researchers often went in there.”

 

Yes! Oh thank the gods, I finally found a way down.

 

“So that means….the doctor is right under the chemistry preparation room…” I then gave X a smile. “Thank you, so much X. Your help is very valuable to all of this.”

 

X nodded, a small, sad smile forming on his face. “Yes, go. I think you will be seeing me again….”

 

“I wouldn’t mind that,” I remarked. “Until then, X.”

 

As I turned away and started leaving to the door, I thought I heard him murmur, “...And Ms. Gabena, too.”

* * *

 

_ Sixth class end. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> X I'M SORRY BABY BUT IT'S FOR THE GREATER GOOD


	10. Seventh Class

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It all comes down to this.
> 
> Maintenance Office: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrMNnYMQw8s&t=47s  
> Gold’s theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJhvLaNvaWg  
> The Scarecrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcVwmhfQxHk  
> Black’s Encouragement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roNGM9wJOnY  
> This Strange Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMHi6KqsG6E  
> The Truth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_ZFbhgeavI&t=7s  
> From Bad to Worse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md-XV1gOEcw  
> That Day, Nine Years Ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxj_QyIjz1Q  
> Final Battle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My1BasHDpnE  
> Emma’s Reminiscence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-IBJ5vYQc8

_Seventh class start._

* * *

 

When I finished telling what I learned of the medical center and the Charon virus to Mr. Emerald, Ruby, and the professor, who had made her way to the maintenance office while I was gone, they all were stunned shocked, before thinking deeply on the sudden turn of even more darkness of our situation, the professor especially distressed and angry about it, for some reason. Or at least, I think that is what Ruby’s doing. I’m not sure if he even paid attention, but if he did, he only paid attention for the first part of it, before going back to brood on whatever happened in the infirmary, his shattered image of Dr. Esprit, and the direness of this situation.

 

“Could there possibly be a staircase in the preparation room?” Professor Dorobo wondered. “I never noticed one, but it seems possible...though now that leaves the mystery on where it is…”

 

“It has to be a pretty big place and opening,” I pointed out. “Even if she were to teleport into the underground way, it has to be big enough to fit that tall thing…”

 

I checked the Holo-Caster. 7 PM. Three more hours, until this school is flooded with bloodthirsty humans. And we don’t even know there is a safe escape route in the basement, but it’s our best and only option.

 

“I wonder if it’s a good idea to bring everyone in the gym and down there as soon as we found the stairs,” I said to Ms. Dorobo and Mr. Emerald. “I doubt the doctor would have something that would harm everyone else, but…”

 

“I’ll evacuate them,” Mr. Emerald offered, then looked down at his satchel with a wry smile. “I’m an S-Rank agent for a reason after all, and I needed to go out anyway.”

 

“Thank you, Mr. Emerald,” the professor said, giving him a grateful smile.

 

What….

 

“But we need you, Mr. Emerald!” I protested. “You’re more skilled and stronger in battle than the rest of us!”

 

“I know I don’t seem like it, but I am a pretty competent observer and fighter myself,” the professor airly said, a small, eerie smile on her face. “So I will be accompanying you, Cedrinus. You don’t know what will happen down there.”

 

Oh...well…that’s quite sweet of her. I think...

 

I let myself a smile. “Thank you, professor.”

 

The smile then turned into a sweeter, bigger one that didn’t really calm my nerves about that. “You’re welcome, Cedrinus. I promise that in all of my power to protect you from any danger down there. You’ve worked so hard to get to here now, and I’ll do my best to see you hopefully accomplish our goal.”

 

I nodded. “Thank you, professor, again.” I turned to Ruby, who still seemed to be brooding. “What about you, Ruby? Will you come along with us?”

 

He looked up to me, staring at me in deep thought, before shaking his head. “...You two go ahead. I’ll catch up.”

 

I think he might need a pep talk…

 

“Okay, if it suits for you well…” I let myself have a hopeful smile. “But I promise that we’ll get out of here, alive and together. All of us.”

 

I then turned away to look at the professor and Mr. Emerald, glancing at Ruby as he put down a bag of Lum, Sitrus and Leppa berries on the table, then checked his bag again. I don’t think those words would boost Ruby’s morale. I don’t think I can convince myself much with them either. So much has happened to us today, for both of us. I don’t know what’s exactly on Ruby’s mind, and he doesn’t seem interested in telling me about it, but if he wants to be alone...so be it.

 

“I guess it’s just the two of us then, Ms. Dorobo,” I remarked. “But at least, if something bad happens, one of us can come up and warn the others and you, Mr. Emerald.”

 

Mr. Emerald nodded. “That’s our backup plan then.”

 

“Commence operation breakout it is, then,” Professor Dorobo announced.

 

“Wait!”

 

The door slammed open, and there was Gold, panting heavily as he clutched his glowing pool stick. Oh gods...what does he want now?

 

“Textoris Melodia Funus! You travel now to the Abyss of Despair!?” he cried.

 

What the fuck.

 

“Uhhh...the abyss of despair?”

 

“Hello Mr. Gold,” Mr. Emerald greeted, seeming to be very relieved much to my shock. “It’s nice to see you still as lively, even in situations like this.”

 

He let out a strangely sad grin. “I can only be lively, Fluorspar. That’s the only choice I have. And I’m sorry that I couldn’t come by here at all today, I just have...this feeling that trying to come to you will get me into some kind of danger. I don’t exactly know what, but it might be something of Amura’s plan.”

 

“It’s fine, Mr. Gold,” Mr. Emerald assured, then sighed. “I also had been handicapped by the doctor...but at least now it’s gone. But yes, Ms. Dorobo and Mr. Cedrinus are planning to confront the doctor right now. I’m going to evacuate the students from the gym, so try to keep yourself and them safe, all right?”

 

What the fuck? Mr. Emerald and Gold know each other? And he’s totally okay with Gold’s craziness? And...the abyss of disaster the underground?

 

He bowed, seeming to take his words seriously. “Of course, Fluorspar. I sense greater Demon Spores there than the ones spawned from the Tree of Blight, so the uttermost caution must be taken.” He then turned to me, way too serious for someone who speaks like a madman. “I cannot allow you to face the Dark Sorceress Amura alone with the Sage of Nighmares, a bird of corrupted mind. So please, accept my help.”

 

Look who’s talking. Though I’m certain Amura is Esprit…

 

“Uh, okay–”

 

Before I could finish, he suddenly shrieked, “I’M COMING FOR YOU, AMURA!”, running ahead into the halls.

 

“GOLD! WAIT! YOU GOTTA BE CAREFUL!” I called, running after him.

 

“Well, looks like we’re going to go now!” the professor declared, running after us. “Goodbye Kessho and Petalburg! And good luck!”

 

“May the gods be with you!” Mr. Emerald called back.

* * *

 

When we entered the preparation room, it was dark, much like many parts of the school. Unlike many of the rooms, there was very few lights on, making it look a lot more ominous, but at the same time, bland. I don’t know if it’s always ominous though, since I think this is my first time here.

 

“This is my first time in here, and I have to say...it’s a lot more...blander than I thought.”

 

I suppose it’s expected since it carries a secret passageway to the more malevolent underground of the school.

 

“I agree,” the professor commented. “It’s neither friendly nor distasteful.”

 

“This place is flooded with Demon Spores,” Gold muttered. “Any good bird would normally avoid it.”

 

I turned to the professor. “Can you think of anything here that might lead to the underground, ma’am? Like, some kind of unused door or something…”

 

She shook her head. “I don’t come here often, so I can’t speak much. But at least you and Mr. Higure have light to help us search through here.”

 

Suddenly, the howling of a wind. There’s no windows here, and the dome’s up. How…

 

“Did you hear or feel that!?” the professor asked, trying to look around in the dark.

 

“Yeah!” I looked around frantically too. “It must be the basement! But from where?”

 

“Agh!” Gold suddenly screamed, clutching his chest. “Be still, my Holy Trigons! Let me…”

 

Suddenly, he ran forward up to a huge mirror, and with a blast of golden light, he broke it. A huge doorway!

 

“So it was behind that mirror all along…” the professor murmured.

 

“It seems Gold’s a lot more cleverer than he acts…” I remarked.

 

Maybe he hides it underneath his delusional rants and nonsenseness?

 

“Let us proceed, Textoris Melodia Funus!” He glared down the stairway beyond the doorway. “The Master of the Abyss waits.”

* * *

 

We went down the long, winding stairs, completely covered in unnerving darkness, quickly dissipated by the uneasily comforting light from Gold. How far does it go? The basement itself should be very big...this is sort of like an entrance of a subway tunnel, if anything.

 

When we finally reached the fortunately well-lit bottom, I was immediately stunned by how impressive it was. It looked a lot like a subway tunnel, being shaped like one and having many halls, but was very clean and had the finest, state of the art technology, much more finer than I could imagine. To think that such a massive and sophisticated place had been lying under our school this whole time….and it had been used for the evil that many had correctly said, but in the efforts to be well liked for telling such a horrifying story.

 

To think now how those storytellers would react when they realize just how true their story is...perhaps they will retain their carefreeness about such matters when they learn further of its true purpose. But I can’t, and possibly neither can anyone who was involved in this investigation. Even though I couldn’t possibly know...I feel heavy guilt for not doing anything to prevent the atrocities against innocent people….

  
I wonder how much Shauna and Wally knew about this. Maybe they never did, only focusing on the mission above, or they knew, but couldn’t do anything about it. Maybe this is a reason why Shauna decided to flee back to Kalos if that is so...

 

“Such an impressive place,” I heard the professor remarked “Though I don’t sense anybirdie near us. Perhaps it’s closed?”

 

I nodded. “It’s clean and orderly, in the unused way. I suppose they really wanted to clean up and close it in a neat fashion after a fire started here five years ago…”

 

“Maybe even froze whatever projects they had going on then,” Ms. Dorobo added.

 

I turned to Gold, who was clutching tightly on his pool stick as he stared fearfully at a hall. “Hey Gold, do you know which way we can go to find the doctor?”

 

“We can’t go now, Textoris,” Gold warned. “The Midnight Hunter approaches!”

 

Suddenly, a long, giant metal arm fell above him, but he jumped away and pushed me down to the ground.

 

“Ow!” I stood up, running off to a safe distance with the professor. “Couldn’t you have said that earlier!?”

 

“No use running, Textoris!” Gold cried, holding up his pool stick like shield as he ran over to the wall. “We cannot confront Amura without defeating her dark servant! This is an unavoidable trial!”

 

“He’s right!” the professor cried, stopping as we watched the scarecrow creep closer. “We have to figure out some way to destroy it!”

 

“But it’s probably made of metal that resists all of our attacks!” I protested, stopping with her. “All we can do is just run away from it!”

 

“Hyu….hyou….hyu….”

 

It slammed its arm on the floor, making a loud, unsettling, rattling noise against the steel floor. OH GODS–

 

“Do we have a weapon to weaken or destroy it?” the professor asked, a long, ethereal, dull silver bone forming in her wings.

 

I felt my hopes lifted up. “Oh yeah! I have a stun gun!” Then it dropped when I realized what it’s made of. “...But would it even work on it?”

 

“Not at normal output!” she cried, breaking the bone in half and throwing them at the scarecrow, knocking it back a bit. “It resembles a living creature, so I doubt it would be completely unaffected.”

 

“To purify the Midnight Hunter, we must use Holy Water!” Gold declared, flying to a certain direction. “It is a hound bred of the Dark Void, after all!”

 

Wait...what...wait...he’s flying to…

 

“The fire hose! That’s brilliant Gold!”

 

“Now if we time it right…” the professor murmured, a small, confident grin on her face that I never seen before as she flew after Gold. Gold quickly broke the glass with a ball of light, before pulling it out, the professor helping him. She then aimed it at the scarecrow, while Gold prepared to turn the valve.

  
“Ready yourself, Cedrinus!” she warned.

 

I nodded, turning up the stun gun to the maximum output. I then aimed it at the scarecrow, waiting for the signal.

 

“Now!” she cried. Instantly, the water shot at the scarecrow, knocking it back a bit, before I set my wing on the trigger.

 

“Close your eyes!” I warned, then shut tightly my own. Unpleasant crackling of electricity filled the room, followed by red dots dancing in front of my eyes. Then, I heard unpleasant creaking and groaning, before I opened my eyes to see the scarecrow shaking in blue electricity. It then collapsed onto the ground with a loud, unpleasant noise. I saw that its arm twitched for a moment, but then, it was still.

 

“Oh thank the gods….” I murmured.

 

“Electricity is a powerful force,” the professor agreed.

 

“The Thunderous Voice of Doom…” I heard Gold murmured. “Judgement has come!”

 

“Hyu...o...a….o…. …….”

 

Hmmm...now I realized it...doesn’t the scarecrow’s noises sound...breathy? Oh, whatever. We have no time to think much on that.

* * *

 Disgraceful. What am I doing here? Why am I sitting by idly? All of our lives are in line for the love of gods. A Petalburg does not hesitate in times like these.

 

...No...I no longer–never, actually–had that restriction. Rakutsu….that foolish bird. No...I’m the foolish bird. I have been pampered my entire life, ignorant that in my shadow, he crawled under the weight of crimes only he knew.

 

I have been nothing but vain and selfish. I had treated my true brother like the dirt underneath my feet for so long. Cedrinus had seen my flaws and told me of them, but I blindly refused to see them, deeming him as a low-born fool, when I was the low-born fool all along.

 

“What should I do...Rakutsu?”

 

Suddenly, the door slammed open, revealing that insufferable Braviary Shiro, but a frown is on his face. What does he want?

 

“Ruby! You’re here!

 

“...Yes, I am.”

 

“Thank the gods,” he murmured, walking up to me, fear in his eyes. “Gold told me he was going to the janitor’s office to meet up with him and the professor to confront the doctor, because apparently, she was the one who was behind all of this? Or at least, that’s what I think. I asked the janitor when he came by, since it seems he and Gold are friends, and he confirms the doctor was the culprit. I know the professor and Gold are capable fighters, but I’m really worried for Trevor. He’s not in a really good mental state right now, and the doctor certainly has something that will cripple them, so we should really get going now and help them! And we need to escape soon too!”

 

“...Quiet. I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

 

Ugh...harsh words that I didn’t even think of. I don’t even know if I heard all of what he said, but I know they were dire. Pathetic fool I am, not listening to him when he has every right to be worried here….

 

“....Ruby, are you crying?”

 

My vision’s blurry...I can feel water near my eyes...undignifying.

 

“N-no! I-it’s–”

 

I suddenly felt a large wing on my shoulder, and looked up to see those brown eyes full of pity for pathetic me. “Ruby, it’s okay to cry,” Shiro said, in the quietest voice I ever heard from him. “Today has been a horrible day for all of us.” He sighed. “I...I know what happened to Rakutsu. I can’t claim I know how it feels like…”

 

“So they’ve told you.”

 

Why am I surprised? Why wouldn’t they?”

 

He nodded slowly. “Yes...but I know that we can still remember him. We can remember him...by getting out of here, and talk about him. Share on how he was a good bird. We can’t sit here and wait for us to join him. He wouldn’t want that.”

 

“Hrmph...some kind of advice from a foolish mongrel who doesn’t know the feeling of this grief…saying such things out of horrible pity...”

 

...Except I’m one too. And so is Rakutsu and that wretched doctor. All of us are mongrels, drowning in the error of our ways.

 

“Hey, I have a name you know,” he said, somewhat hurt. “And you and Rakutsu have one too. Those wonderful names are so much more important than what species we are.”

 

I tried to say something, but then, I remember his dying words: _“Know...that you are yourself. Never...let anyone say or do otherwise.”_

 

“I...am myself? I...am Ruby?”

 

Shiro smiled. “That’s the spirit. But we gotta go now. We have to break out of here as soon as possible, and be there for those three.”

 

I nodded. Even though I still have no idea what to do, wishing Rakutsu was here...at least trying to find some way to keep his memory may help me to find myself. But now, I must keep my focus on Cedrinus, Higure, and Dorobo, all diving deep into the unknown, somewhere underneath the chemistry prep lab.

 

“Yes...there is no use moping here...we only have two hours before we are swarmed with bloodthirsty beasts.” I brought myself up from the couch and put the bag of berries Mr. Kessho left for me into my own, then turned to Shiro with a confident grin. “Come, Shiro! We must leave to the chemistry prep room this instant! Some birds wait for us down there!”

 

Shiro nodded enthusiastically, a stupidly wide grin on his face. “Yeah! That’s the Ruby I know! Now to our friends!”

 

And with that, we were off to the underground, unknown to most of the school until today, in great hopes and fears for what lies in it.

* * *

 

“The Demon Spores are think in the air...I can smell the stench of the sorceress…” Gold murmured, his face wrinkled in disgust as we entered a sophisticated lab. “It smells like blood and roadkill.”

 

I feel nervous trusting only Gold’s bizarre intuition, but considering on how much time we have left and how it effective it is, I really shouldn’t complain. I’m not sure if he’s actually following the doctor by her scent...I don’t think I ever smelled blood or roadkill on her before. Then again, I’m always focused on trying to get away from her. I guess it’s just Goldism.

 

“The equipment here looks very advanced,” I heard the professor remarked. I turned to her, seeing her opening a drawer full of files, examining through them. “And these documents look pretty new...maybe this lab is still in use?”

 

I went over to a desk, and saw a register of names. Possibly one of students? It seems so when I scan through it. Huh…?

 

“Gold, you’re on here! And why is your last name–”

 

“The Dark Grimoire!” he cried angrily, lashing his pool stick. “I can feel the Tendrils of Imminent Tragedy…!”

 

The professor flew over to my side, and we started reading through them. Some of them have notes under them….huh…..Gold’s notes are...what?

 

“Gold...you act like a neurotransmitter when you’re excited…?” I asked. “It says that it’s because of the higher than average fairy power you release...physical exertion seems to be a stimulant…”

 

Fairy power is one of the most potent abilities within Pokemon, so t’s able to cause a variety of things. It seems to be the reason why he acts so loony…

 

“It seems that the fairy power increases dramatically if he feels a strong negative and positive emotion, and if feeling a positive one or willed, can cause others to temporarily lose control of themselves...however, its usefulness is limited, so it can’t be used in military combat….” the professor read aloud.

 

What….the actual fuck? No wonder why Gold hates the doctor.

 

A suppressed growl came from Gold, before he cried, “I shall not allow the demon to make me her pawn! I am the Golden-Hearted Seraph, destined to be free in this earth and sky!”

 

He sounds and looks unexpectedly heroic and angry right now. I wonder what’s his true history with the doctor….

 

“It seems that all the students who were invited here have some kind of physical peculiarity….” the professor remarked, and when I turned to her, I thought I saw anger in her face, before she turned to me, fear in her eyes. “How were you enrolled here, Cedrinus?”

 

“I...was invited too.” I shrugged. “I don’t know why though. According to my mother, my father was a wealthy bird...though that can’t be it, much of the wealth we had is gone now.”

 

She looked at it again. “Your notes are in numbers. Maybe an explanation for something like Higure’s?”

 

“No! The Black Misama of Inevitable Doom draws near!” Gold warned, raising his pool stick that is glowing dangerously yellow. “We are approaching the Gate of the Abyss. I feel its foul wind…we must take caution.”

 

It seems that he senses the doctor is nearby…good. Finally, I can get my answers, and hopefully give her justice.

 

Right before I was about to take off, the professor said, “Wait just a minute Cedrinus. I have a question to ask to you.”

 

Why a question now!?

 

“Professor, we have no time, we’re almost done! We have to–”

 

“You lied, did you not?”

 

What the…

 

“What do you mean, professor?”

 

I couldn’t have lied...I would never lie! At least, I like to think so…

 

She sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t know why you lied about that...or maybe you forgot? But it was just yesterday…”

 

“Yesterday? After school? Well...I don’t know either. We have to ask the doctor about that...assuming she is even willing to give us a straight answer. But let’s go now.”

 

She nodded slowly. “Yes...you’re right...we have little time left, after all.”

 

We all then follow after Gold, who was flying quickly and bravely into the innermost room. I’ve been trying to find the truth of Y’s death since this morning. Why would I lie? Maybe Ms. Dorobo misunderstood something...but that’s too simple.

 

When we reached the room, it was surprisingly dusty, burnt, and filthy. This must be where the fire happened five years ago. Looking at the walls here, I can practically smell the soot and feel the ashes in my mouth. This is where X threw himself into the sea of flames, for the good of humanity.

 

I wonder what I would do if I was in his place. Would have I ended up in a fiery death, like him, or would I be selfish and–  

 

“Good evening, Mr. Cedrinus. It’s been quite a while since we’ve met. I quite wished we’ve meet sooner than now.”

 

“The Dark Sorceress Amura!” Gold cried.

 

“Doctor…” I heard the professor murmur, almost growling.

 

I snapped my head towards that awful voice, and saw the doctor herself, her face so stoic for once, that I couldn’t exactly decipher what evil thought was hiding behind it. I wish I could burn it out right now…

 

I then felt myself lunging at her again, grabbing her neck feathers, the terrifying, scorching flame from before now completely engulfing me. But this time, she showed no reaction at all.

 

“It wasn’t just Y. You killed Mr. Oak, you killed that boy, and you killed Rakutsu....”

 

I realized that I was short of breath, and I stopped, regaining it again as I examine anything on her completely dead face. Nothing.

 

“Why? Why are you doing this!? What do you–”

 

Her eyes suddenly glowed orange, and a heavy force pushed me off of her. I tried to regain my footing, as she sighed irritatedly. “It seems that you were a lot more forgetful than I thought...as I told you before, I only took apart Ms. Gabena’s body. Not kill her. Mr. Masayoshi

was not responsible either for her death, he only helped me with it. That is the truth.”

 

“Do you think I care!? I won’t listen to another of your lies!”

 

A flash of annoyance appeared in her eyes, then vanished as quickly as it went. “Do I have to make a foolish oath over some god’s name to make it clear that I’m not lying? Also, you already have everything to answer your question: who killed Yvonne Gabena?”

 

The invocation of Y’s name sent a shudder down my spine, extinguishing the fire, until Gold cried, “Don’t listen to her words, Textoris Melodia Funus! They are chants to her dark spell!”

 

She glared at Gold, and I saw pure _hatred and fear_ in her eyes, the ominous orange light cloaked her. “Shut up Higure! You have no right to stop this now! I’m too far in to fail!”

 

Suddenly, I heard a heavy _SLAM!,_ and turned around to see a huge, steel wall behind me, blocking me from Ms. Dorobo and Gold. Fuck, I’m cut off!

 

“DOCTOR! WHAT IS THIS MEANING OF THIS!?” the muffled voice of Ms. Dorobo called from behind the wall.

 

“ACK! METAL! OUR WORST ADVERSARIES!” the muffled cried of Gold followed. “OF COURSE THIS IS HER SPELL!”

 

I turned to her, already gone without the orange light, ready to attack her, but knowing that I could never fight her alone. “What are you doing doctor!?”

 

“I have no business with them,” she pointed out. “Plus Higure’s a pain in the tail anyways. I just only want to talk with you. Now back on topic. You want to find the truth to your beloved’s death, yes?”

 

That word shouldn’t feel so cruel and evil right now…

 

“What truth would you even give to me?” I snarled. “You’re a murderer, a liar, a savage, you casted that amnesia spell on Mr. Emerald, and you were involved with the medical center too! Nothing you say can change my mind!”

 

“Quick to fight, are you?” she remarked dryly. “You certainly inherited a lot from your mother.” She smiled sadly. “Seems that even her spirit can’t be killed by a life-debilitating illness.”

 

How does she...no...she just looked into my mind...that selfish bitch…

 

The smile vanished, as her stoicness returned. “But anyway, you are lacking very critically in logic, Mr. Cedrinus. As much as my past actions are ingrained in your mind, my words have nothing to do with it.” She then nodded slowly. “Yes, I was employed to this facility since the beginning. It’s clear you already know that I was part of Operation Hatoful.”

 

I nodded, trying to maintain my courage. “Yes...Operation Hatoful...to wipe out all of humanity using the Charon virus.”

 

A strange smile on her suddenly appeared, either of sick amusement or...pride. “That’s correct, Mr. Cedrinus. I’m quite proud of you for figuring that out, even with that disadvantage. You are truly a brilliant observer!”

 

I was tempted to attack her right then and there, when she continued, “The strain that we isolated was extremely powerful, possibly the deadliest in human history. However, strains of great lethality are extremely fragile, and the Charon virus is no exception. It can not survive long outside of a host’s body, so in order to spread it, we would have to send a live carrier into their society and spread via airborne infection. However, it has minimal effect to completely harmless to many Pokemon species, especially birds, so it is nearly impossible to establish itself in a Pokemon body.”

 

Suddenly, her smile shifted into an obviously forced one, hiding her anger poorly. “Evans Xavier, the original host, had a rare genetic condition that resulted in a slightly compromised immune system. In his body alone is where the Charon virus can safely reside.” She laughed bitterly. “But for some reason, he refused to cooperate. He was so willing before…”

 

Gods, what an awful…

 

“You killed him! If you didn’t bring in those human prisoners for those cruel experiments, he still would have lived!”

 

“In our defense, his past experiences with humans was enough for him to comply with our plans in our view, and he clearly had some kind of attachment to me.” She sighed deeply out of her selfish regret and irritation. “But either way, we lost the critical part of our plan, all because of our foolish hopefulness. The experiment was put on hold indefinitely, but fortunately, we didn’t lose all of Evans’ corpse, and I was able to preserve some of his remains...waiting for the right carrier.”

 

In hopes of trying to keep myself ready to attack her, I said, “But...wasn’t there a better way? It sounds….extremely difficult.”

 

She nodded. “Yes...but the alternative was simple: compromise another individual’s immune system in the same way as Evans’.”

 

“But they would die!”

 

I was expecting that kind of plan, but it still surprised me….just how cruel can the doctor can be?

 

“Indeed...even if they were able to carry the Charon virus, another infection can easily kill them.” An enigmatic smile slowly formed on her face, sending shivers down my spine. “Which is why I had chosen carefully for my subject...slowly weakening his immune system, over time. Quite fortunate that this had been achieved in a year. Now, I believe that an intelligent bird like you will figure out what you forgot?”

 

AGH! My head...it hurts! It’s like something...some...some awful creature had been in there...wriggling deep inside my brain...what…

 

_“Are you okay Trevor? Ms. Dorobo told me you were here, so I wanted to make sure you’re all right.”_

 

“Y...came to the infirmary…”

 

Gods...please...not…

 

“You came this far Mr. Cedrinus...I’m sure you have the answer...right there...right in front of you.”

* * *

 

_Everything...everything’s so hazy. I think my stomach was acting up again. I drank the medicine the doctor gave to me and laid down, but I feel tired and heavy._

 

_“Are you okay Trevor?”_

 

_“Yeah...I’m fine now.”_

 

_“Ms. Dorobo told me you were here, so I wanted to make sure you’re all right.”_

 

_Y was reaching towards me. She looked rather pale, but I don’t think she knows that. “Want to go home? I’ll carry you.”_

 

_Suddenly, her hand stopped, and she frozed. She fell down to her knees, clutching her chest. She started gasping desperately, her face growing paler by the second. “Trev...or...I...can’t...breathe…”_

_  
_ _Oh...oh gods… she can’t breathe. Where’s the doctor? I have to get home early...mother says so. She looks beautiful, even in that state. What...what is happening? What is going on? Everything feels so strange...almost like a dream. Did this really happen? I need to go home._

 

_Goodbye Y. See you tomorrow._

_  
_ _“...hy. Hyu….”_

* * *

 

I suddenly feel sick. I want to vomit. Y...she fell right in front of me...right in front of my eyes...and I did nothing. And then…

 

“The experiment was a resounding success,” the doctor confirmed my sickening thoughts, a sound of clear joy in her voice. “Once the virus is in the human body, it causes an overreaction to the immune system, which leads to widespread apoptosis within the lungs, or more simply put, shuts down the respiratory system. Ms. Gabena had displayed the normal symptoms of the Charon virus, and passed away.”

 

So...that means…

 

She nodded, a sickening smile of pure joy forming on her face. “Any human who comes into contact with you will die. Do you see now?”

 

No...no it’s not true. It’s not true! IT’S NOT–  

 

“You’re lying! Y and I had been friends since child–”

 

“You only had the live virus since yesterday, so that’s why she was alive until then. The past year was just preparation for it.”

 

Before I could say anything more, her eyes and wings suddenly glowed orange, before a burlap sack with a blood stain and a nail appeared in her wings.

 

“The scarecrow’s...head?”

 

She nodded. “Sadly, its body is now useless...but I will tell you about Labor 9, which you call the scarecrow.”

 

I need to stop standing around here, start doing something...something something something...I can’t let this….but why can’t I move? Why do I want to stay here and listen? I wanted to figure out what happened to Y...and I got it. Agh...my chest hurts...it feels so heavy...maybe this is why I can’t move. Fucking hell…

 

“It is one of the Labor-Model New Humans, developed by the Togekiss Party, but was cancelled due to ethical complaints. While bird Pokemon have a variety of abilities to handle many tasks, our physical capabilities are not as high as humans’, and there is a notable number of Pokemons species that are more trusting of humans than other Pokemon species. These new creatures, or livestock, if you want to call it that, is meant to compensate that for us.”

 

Her smile then turned to a sardonic one. “The Labor series was considered a beautiful ideal towards the coexistence of humans. With a human’s head mounted inside an artificial body, they would be durable and be able to handle difficult tasks. But of course, it never entered development because of its shutdown.”

 

So she…

 

“So I carried on that plan, and made a prototype. To be my sidekick. I can’t afford to have other birds to interfere with the investigation, so I had it patrol the building.” She suddenly grimaced, and I thought heard her grumbling under her breath, “Too bad it didn’t scare away Akagi.”

 

She then turned back to me, her head tilted to the side. “But here is my next question. What is inside this bag?”

 

I felt myself sicker and heavier looking at the bag now. “A human head.”

 

She laughed, that evil, horrible laugh. “Kuhaha! No, no, no! Close, but you have to be more specific. I know that Ms. Gabena’s head has been sent to your classroom...but did you notice anything missing?”

 

“Missed?”

 

Of course I didn’t check it...I was too shocked to look into it further...wait. She doesn’t mean–  

 

“Y’s brain!?”

 

She nodded cheerfully. “Correct! You catch on very quickly. Ms. Gabena did come to meet up with you frequently...but unfortunately, as Labor 9, she lost much of her personality.

 

“Then she was…alive?”

 

But her body was gone. All that was left was her brain...can we still call that alive?

 

“Alive or not...can you still save her?”

 

Why am I naively hoping for her to be alive? I killed her. The doctor made me kill her. She would never afford such generosity. She doesn’t know what’s generosity anyways.

 

She put a wing under her beak, pondering even though I know she was just taunting me. “That is a difficult question. We tend to think there is a definite line between life and death, but really, it’s quite vague. Her personality remained in this world up until a few minutes ago.” Suddenly, a wicked smile formed on her face. “You gave poor Labor 9 a _shock_. I would say.”

 

No...no, she’s lying. She’s just lying. She’s just lying, just lying, lying, lying, lying, lyy–

 

“Alas, poor Ms. Gabena’s brain is irreversibly damaged, unable to be repaired by the wonders of modern medicine.” She suddenly glowered at me, almost as if she wanted to execute me right then and there. “You’re so much crueler than I ever thought, Mr. Cedrinus. First, her body, then her mind.”

 

No, I didn’t, it was the doctor. Yes, I did kill her. No, the doctor is just playing with me. But yes….I did kill her. It was my fault all along. Why did I do this? I wished I didn’t do this.

 

Suddenly, her glare disappeared, her face showing nothing. “This was all arranged for you. I had Labor 9, Mr. Masayoshi, and Mr. Oak to help you along the investigation. But there is one more final thing left to all of this...what did you and Ms. Gabena asked to me long ago?”

 

She then turned away, gesturing towards to what seemed to be a different room. “Come, follow me.”

 

What does she want? What lies beyond there? Why does any of this matter? Y is gone. Her murderer was right here since the beginning. I have nothing more to lose.

 

I went up to her, and she nodded. “Good of you, Mr. Cedrinus.”

 

“TREVOR!” Gold suddenly cried from beyond the wall. “YOU CANNOT LISTEN OR FOLLOW MATIERE ANYWHERE! THE DEMON SPORES ARE CORRUPTING YOU, AND ARE THE THICKEST WHEREVER SHE WANTS YOU TO GO! YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RETURN!”

 

How do they...

 

“CEDRINUS, YOU CAN’T LISTEN TO THE DOCTOR!” the professor followed after. “SHE’S GOING TO DO SOMETHING UNSPEAKABLY EVIL TO YOU!”

 

The doctor’s eyes suddenly glowed orange, opening the steel layer to a clear layer that revealed the horrified and desperate faces of Gold and Ms. Dorobo, covered in a golden light. “Thank you, you two, for bringing him this far. And now, goodbye.”

 

A loud buzzing sound came from the other side of the wall, before red light dimmed out the yellow. Even though they were presumably safe, they were glancing around frantically in there.

 

“Oh gods...the poison gas.”

 

Gold nodded gravely. “The Mystic Presence, the Avatar of Misama...it’s good that I had protected both of us in here, but the shield will not last long.”

 

Before I could say anything more, I heard the doctor walking away. I followed after, as that day suddenly yet slowly, came to me.

* * *

 

_A human collapsed in front of me. Y’s mother. She was running away from the gunfire nearby. Y’s father had ran to them, because Y said he was a mediator between humans and birds. But I knew then that he was already gone. The distant gunfire, Pokemon moves, and screaming, both human and bird, from the small house was enough._

 

_Mrs. Gabena! Wake up!_

 

_Wake up Mama! Wake up!_

 

_Aww...how cute…_

 

_A little girl with a bird…_

 

_A shame too...he’ll turn against her one day. In his blood and he doesn’t know it._

 

_We turned around, and we saw big scary men, Y picking me up and crying as we tried to flee, praying desperately to the gods above to save us. But we knew then we had no hope of survival._

 

_But like the gods had heard our prayers, an orange light came. And when it disappeared, there was no shouting. No bullets. No Pokemon moves._

 

_We were on a quiet field, far away from the small house._

 

_A gentle voice then spoke._

 

_Are you two all right?_

 

_When I strained to look up to the source of that voice, I can only see a bird’s blurred smile and dark body. I can only manage a nod, and her smile grew._

 

_She sighed in relief. That’s good. You know, you are in good wings. I am a magician, a powerful magician who can grant you any wish. Tell me...is there anything you desire?_

 

_I answered._

 

_I don’t want any of these things to happen anymore. My wish is for a world where humans and birds no longer fight. Even I have to die, I want there to be peace._

 

_And Y continued._

 

_I agree. I would do anything to make Trevor’s wish to come true._

 

_The bird nodded._

 

_Your wish may not happen today. It may not happen tomorrow either. But one day, I will make it happen._

* * *

 

I found myself shaking, turning to look at the doctor. “When we were children….yes...that’s right...it was you–”

 

She nodded. “That was the other thing you forgotten. You have remembered it now.

 

Nine years ago. A group of humans barricaded themselves in a building not far from where we lived. Y’s parents were killed by the other humans, trying to flee and prevent it. Many birds and humans were killed from the ensuing fight….

 

And I met the doctor.

 

“I asked...for a world in which humans and birds no longer fight.”

 

She gave me a confused look that confused me, because she seemed to be genuinely so. “You and Ms. Gabena said you would be happy with dying to bring peace. I had carried it out as _exactly_ as you asked.” I thought I saw something even darker in her eyes, as she continued, “Even with coexistence, fights and problems will still be present. So to end the wars between the two races together forever, one race have to be destroyed altogether.”

 

“But...why me? Why did you choose me, out of all birds, back then?”

 

Her confusion grew. “What do you mean by “choosing” you? Why did I ask you what your wish was, you mean?” The confusion disappeared, as strange sadness appeared in her eyes. “It wasn’t a coincidence that I asked you that. I had made a promise...a promise that I will keep, even if it costs my own life.”

 

She then walked to a counter, and I noticed that we were in an eerie lab, with several containers of strange liquid and screens showing diagrams of humans and birds surrounding us. “Now that the experiment is a success, all we need to do is to transfer Evans Xavier’s original lysosomes to you, and everything you wanted will come true.”

 

She turned back to me, an awful sad but proud smile on her face. “I’m quite sorry for the hoops you have to jump through to remember your wish and understand my intentions. After all, this would be quite a nasty shock if you went in without knowing. Though perhaps you can at least acknowledge all I done for you?”

 

“.....”

 

I wish I can bring myself to care...but I can’t. Not anymore. Y’s dead. I killed her, all because of some stupid wish. Nothing good has ever happened. If this is what my life fated to be, then I wish I was never born.

 

“...I don’t want to see anything anymore. I want to be away from this all.”

 

She nodded, her face turning solemn. “Yes...I can imagine this is an exhausting day for you. I will make sure you can forget it, even just for a bit. So close your eyes...Trevor...sleep well. You will have your rest.”

* * *

 

A golden and blue orb slammed into the steel wall from Gold, then disappeared, doing nothing but making the dent from before more deeper.

 

“Agh!” Gold cried, panting from such efforts. “It’s no use!”

 

“The oxygen in this shield is going to run low soon...we can’t talk much now,” Faitsu warned, frantically looking for any clues in the room that could lead to an escape, or preferably, a way to reach Trevor and Emma. “It seems to be leaking out quite slowly...so we have some more time.”

 

Suddenly, a muffled noise of cracking came from beyond the wall, followed by muffled shouting.

 

“Dorobo! Higure! We’ll get you out of there! Shiro, take the gas! I’ll take care of the wall!”

 

In a few moments, the red light disappeared and the steel wall was raised up. Ruby breathed out a stream of mist, spreading across the room to eliminate the much of the gas to a harmless level, before he took out some berries for the two. The shield surrounding the Togekiss and Mandibuzz faded away, running up to both of them in relief.

 

“Thank you so much for your help, Amachi and Shiro,” the professor said, immediately swallowing the berries she took before giving them a smile. “And impressive feat of leadership and bravery too.”

 

“I won’t forget this too,” Gold agreed, then devoured the berries he got his wings on.

 

Ruby frowned, looking at only the two. “Where’s Cedrinus go? Why are you two alone, trapped behind a steel wall, a golden shield, and poison gas?”

 

“How did you get separated?” Black asked, shaking in fear.

 

Faitsu tried to remain calm from those words, trying to hide any fear for her student’s safety, or anger at the doctor. “He was carried away by the doctor, who put down that wall between us and him. She also intended to kill us with that gas, but fortunately, it moved slowly and Higure sensed that she would do so ahead of time.”

 

“Carried off!?” Ruby exclaimed.

 

“Oh gods!” Black cried. “She’s doing something horrible to him as we speak!”

 

Gold nodded frantically. “I’m not bothering with the fancy language now. She’s turning Trevor into a biological weapon against humans!”

 

“What!?” Ruby cried.

 

“What the fuck!?” Black screamed.  


“We’ll explain as we go on!” Faitsu cried, starting to fly over to the next room. “Now, we gotta go!”

 

The birds took off after her, Ruby asking as he tried to go nearer to Faitsu, “But how did you know if the steel wall was keeping you two from her!?”

 

“Gold and I used our powers together to be able to hear them,” she replied, then beated her wings harder. “Fortunately, we both have vast knowledge in our powers, so we were able to work quickly and listen to everything.” She shook her head angrily, then narrowed her eyes to the room beyond. “But that doesn’t matter now, we have to get him out of here with us! Faster everyone! We don’t have enough time!”

* * *

 

“Cedrinus!” I cried, as soon as I entered the room. “Are you alive!?”

 

I soon stopped right in my tracks, when I saw the Talonflame right there, in front of me. But it wasn’t him at all.

 

Cedrinus Trevor was cloaked in flames, his once timid and wary gray eyes now looking more like a feral beast, waiting to make its attack on its prey. It is shameful, yet reasonable, to admit that this radical, disquieting change had frightened me out of my skin, but I didn’t care, for that wretched doctor was truly behind it all.

 

“Oh gods...what happened to Trevor?” Shiro whispered.

 

“What have you done to him, you demon cloaked in a bird’s flesh!?” I cried.

 

The feral fiend herself walked out of the darkness, a mad, wicked grin on her face. “Oh, if it isn’t the son of noble General Petalburg! What is someone as prestigious as you doing down here, kuhaha?”

 

Those words still sting, but they mean nothing to me.

 

“Your words can’t penetrate me you wicked spirit! What have you done to Cedrinus!?”

 

An eerily sad yet prideful smile formed on her face. “I have granted him his wish. That is all.” She turned away, looking up to the ceiling. “And now, as the twelve hours are nearly up, the human forces are gathered above, ready to kill any bird in sight. Mr. Cedrinus will fly back up to the skies where he belongs, and bring the end to _them_ , and the rest of the human race.”

 

That lowly, vile, scum eating demon–  

 

“Lies! Vile lies! Cedrinus will never wish harm on a human being!” I turned to this feral beast, in vain, flickering hope that he would agree with me. “Right Cedrinus!?”

 

The feral beast remained silence, glowering at us all.

 

“Seems that he’s hesitant to agree with you, kuhahaha…” she remarked, turning to give me an infuriating arrogant smirk.

 

“It’s no use! The Demon Spores have completely swallowed him!” Gold cried, pointing his pool stick at the doctor. “He’s completely deaf to our words!”

 

I didn’t need to flounder in confusion of his words. He was more right than I can ever imagined. But I think such dreadfulness of the situation still gives me pain in my head...possibly the result of his fae powers?

 

She then turned back to us, that smirk still on her face. “But we have no time now. He’s now near death, and must quickly fly spread the end to all of humanity.” She shrugged dismissively. “Of course, it’s possible he might get shot and it was all for nothing…”

 

Suddenly, the room felt dreadfully cold, as if the gods themselves were angry at this ghastly bird. But it seemed that Shiro didn’t noticed, as he screamed, “To hell with your plans Esprit! I’ll stop him right here, even if it means with my life!”

 

He then charged straight at the Talonflame, but was instantly met with a stream of bright orange fire. When it stopped, he quickly scurried away, tail between his legs and covered in black and burns in the upper half of his body.

 

“Ah yes...I forgot to mention,” the dirt eating crow said with an even wickeder smile. “Mr. Cedrinus traded his free will for an impossible physical prowess. So...good luck trying to defeat him.”

 

Oh gods...even though Shiro was a fool for doing that, it still made me more frightened and scared for him and for us. He’s a well trained battler, much more stronger than Cedrinus who often struggled in the days of battle class. What kind of awful drug did the doctor give to him to make him cowed to her will?

 

“He’s brainwashed!” I cried. “We shall stop him and your plans.”

 

Foolish lies, but better than cowering.

 

“Be rational Amachi!” Dorobo scolded, and when I turned to her, I saw her shaking, though it seemed to be less of fear and more of pure and utter _hatred_ that I had never seen on her before. “Shiro had just been forced to retreat from him. We have to approach this carefully! We know that he’s impossibly strong but has no control, correct?”

 

“That’s very obvious!”

 

She grinned, though it look more terrifying than comforting. “Then we will free him, with the power of Higure!”

 

WHAT!?

 

“But he’s insane! Even with sanity, he can’t possibly overpower a–”

 

Suddenly, I felt something scorching and sharp in my chest, ramming me straight into the wall.

 

“Agh!” I cried, and saw Cedrinus’ unnaturally stoic face, slowly backing away from me as he prepared to attack again.

 

“Stop this Trevor!” Higure cried, and with a point of his pool stick, Cedrinus suddenly froze, his head covered in golden light. I suddenly felt revitalized an instant after.

 

“Wh..what?”

 

“No! Not you Akagi!” the doctor suddenly screeched.

 

I turned to look at Higure, body, eyes, and pool stick completely engulfed in a warm golden aura. “By Arceus’ Judgement...seal the disaster with the power of the Chosen One!”

 

Cedrinus clutched his head, and suddenly, I felt a burst of courage yet confusion. “How did his fairy powers manage to affect Cedrinus?”

 

The professor grin grew, and I noticed she was staring at the surprisingly terrified, but fuming doctor. “Higure, with a strong positive or negative emotion, gets a sharp increase in the production of his fae power, and with excitement or positive one, he can release it in great levels, which is able to break their mental restraints and lose control of themselves. The doctor seems to confirm it too when I talked to her earlier.”

 

What a truly terrifying power…

 

“So...much like a desperate bird can be stronger than usual.”

 

“Arceus’ Judgement now heralds the Awakening! We can now free him!” Higure declared, the aura fading, but he looked exhausted and drained from such efforts. But his eyes were still filled with fire.

 

“I won’t let you stop me!” the doctor screeched, preparing an orb of dark aura, but before she could do anything, the professor suddenly rammed into her left side with a ghostly bone-spear, struggling futilely under her weight.

 

“Now that he can’t attack, convince him out of the doctor’s control!” the professor ordered.

 

“You expect _that_ to work!?” I cried.

 

“Do you want him dead!?” Shiro asked, and I realized that he was already up and lively again, despite being partially covered in black.

 

“Just don’t think about it!” Higure agreed. “The Red Lotus Fetters bound between us can help get him out of it!”

 

We all turned to Cedrinus, still clutching his head, but now shaking in confusion or fear.

 

“Black demon, be silent!” Higure chanted as if he was praying. “Pure wings, awaken! Trevor Cedrinus, break away from Matiere’s spell! Come back to us, your friends, your allies!” He shaked a little, as he said, “Yvonne wouldn’t want you to have this fate! Your path’s so much brighter than this!”

 

“You are not a violent bird, Trevor!” Shiro cried. “That’s not your nature! Come back to your senses!”

 

“Listen to us, Trevor!” I cried, shaking so much I felt like falling. “We’ve came so far to unravel the mystery of this whole situation, and we’re so close to making it out here alive. You can’t fall for that wretched witch’s words! We have to get out of this, together! You can’t die here now!”

 

“Please, come back Cedrinus,” Dorobo pleaded, and I saw her slowly walking up to him from the twitching doctor. “Come back! You have a bright and promising future, so much to live for! You can’t go to a darker one!”

 

Suddenly, two frigid breezes flew into the room from behind me, and I thought heard a voice, so familiar, yet so impossible, saying, “Trevor, snap back to your senses! You’re not some mindless weapon of the doctor! You’re Trevor! A kind bird who would never hurt anyone! Wake up!”

 

Right after those words faded away, a stronger breeze pushed into Cedrinus, even though there was no window open, and none of us had caused that. Then he collapsed, the flames gone.

* * *

 

_“Black demon, be silent! Pure wings, awaken! Trevor Cedrinus, break away from Matiere’s spell! Come back to us, your friends, your allies! Yvonne wouldn’t want you to have this fate! Your path’s so much brighter than this!”_

 

_“You are not a violent bird, Trevor! That’s not your nature! Come back to your senses!”_

 

_“Listen to us, Trevor! We’ve came so far to unravel the mystery of this whole situation, and we’re so close to making it out here alive. You can’t fall for that wretched witch’s words! We have to get out of this, together! You can’t die here now!”_

 

_“Please, listen to us Cedrinus. Come back! You have a bright and promising future, so much to live for! You can’t go to a darker one!”_

 

_“Trevor, snap back to your senses! You’re not some mindless weapon of the doctor! You’re Trevor! A kind bird who would never hurt anyone! Wake up!”_

 

_“You’re not a weapon of destruction, Mr. Cedrinus! Return to your friends, your family, your life! You have hope to go on a path that is not mine!”_

 

I suddenly found myself awake, from those desperate and pained pleas. What happened..? What did I do…? ...Was all that real? And...did I hear–  

 

“Aghhh...my head…”

 

“Cedrinus! Are you all right!?”

 

Is that...Ruby? He sounds so worried...it’s strange hearing him being worried.

 

“Oh thank goodness,” I heard the professor murmured, as I suddenly felt myself helped up.

 

“Can you stand Trevor?” Black asked so softly, I was more scared than relieved.

 

I tried to stand, but I felt too exhausted to carry my own weight. “No...too tired.”

 

When I looked up, I realized that they all were staring down at me with extreme relief, mixed with cautious wariness. Gods….I–  

 

“It’s okay, Trevor,” Gold assured. “You’re safe now. You should eat. Don’t you have berries, Ruby?”

 

Ruby pulled out some Lum and Sitrus berries, which I tried to swallow down, trying to ignore the heavy feeling in my stomach. I felt a little less tired, but I still felt like I want to sleep somewhere warm and dark, and never wake up again. What happened just a few minutes ago feels like a horrible dream...but I know it was real.

 

I ate a few more berries, before I looked from Ruby, to Gold, to Black, then to the professor. “I’m so sorry...for causing you all that pain…” I felt myself crying. “Especially to you, Y. I..I don’t know if you’re still here...if you were even here...but please...forgive me.”

 

“You weren’t yourself, you don’t need to apologize,” the professor assured.

 

“The wretched witch of a doctor had cursed you,” Ruby agreed.

 

“Yeah, don’t beat yourself up over that,” Black added.

  
Gold nodded in agreement. “What matters now is that you’re back.”

 

But do I really deserve to be back? And do I even deserve forgiveness? I killed Y, I caused them pain. What can I do now?

 

“Trevor, what do you want to do most in your life?” Gold asked all of a sudden.

 

“To not make...anyone sad.”

 

That was such a simple answer. Yet I felt better, more than I expected.

 

“Impossible...he shouldn’t have recovered this fast.”

 

I turned to that horrible voice, and I saw Esprit, heaving herself up, wincing as blood poured from her left side, staining her white lab coat. She shakily stood on her feet, and I noticed yellow sparks surrounded her.

 

“The disease is half in his mind, after all,” the professor pointed out, sounding scarily more smug than I can ever imagined. “Outlook is critical, after all.”

 

“Urgh...it seems that I had not been careful enough…” she grumbled.

 

“Now let’s finish her off!” Gold cried, forming a ball of aura with his pool stick. I suddenly felt guilt for letting him attack her.

  
“Stop Gold!” I turned to Esprit, so weak, so helpless, now that she’s paralyzed and bleeding, seeming to be on the verge of tears. Even though she caused so much suffering, and even though I still hate her...I can’t help but just feel sorry for her at this state.

 

“Why are you protecting her?” Ruby asked, and I turned to him, confused and mortified. “She did all of this to you.”

 

“She’s already...hurt enough. We don’t need to...hurt her anymore.”

 

I turned back to her, still trying to keep her footing. “Doctor...why did you...go such lengths...to grant me...my wish?”

 

“Wh...what?” Ruby asked.

 

The doctor tensed up, before sitting back down on the floor, giving me a cold look. “There’s nothing worth telling to you. I tried to grant it, and I failed. That’s all you should know. There is no other point to knowing what’s dead.”

 

I shook my head. “You’re lying...doctor. You must have….a reason. You said it yourself...you wanted to...grant my wish because you made a promise...that you will keep, even if...you have to die. I just..want to know...the answer...to everything.”

 

She stared at me coldly, and suddenly, she gave me the most saddest smile as her eyes started to water. “...My reason...is nowhere near as interesting...as you would think. But fine...”

* * *

 

_“Good morning Essentia. How are you feeling today?”_

 

_“I would say I’m fine, M. Cedrinus, but of course, I would be lying. I’m stuck in this bed, only with books, some visitors, and I know that even if I get out of this bed, I will never able to fly into the skies again.”_

 

_“Ah...of course...a foolish question. Malva had been very concerned about you these past few days, and seeing her being distressed also makes me distressed. After all, you’re such a strong willed young lady...you shouldn’t be trapped in a bed like this. I feel awfully sorry that you have to be in such a fate.”_

 

_“What’s done is done, Mr. Cedrinus. We can’t stop me from going into that damned suit again.”_

 

_“Very much true. And unfortunately, while we can’t do that, I think I have discovered a new stem cell technique for you to have some use for your right side again! Though I doubt we can fully repair your right wing so you can fly again without too much money spent or time, and your right side would still be rather weak, you will at least be able to walk without a wheelchair or crutch.”_

 

_“That sounds too good to be true.”_

 

_“Yes, I know, but it has promising results. We’ll have a surgery of that in about a week or two, and see if it works or not!”_

 

_“Hmm...all right then.”_

* * *

 

And I did get better. I never was able to fly again, but at least I regained my precious ability to walk. And it was all thanks to Lysandre Cedrinus. He is quite possibly one of the, if not, _the_ most gifted researcher alive. He has abilities and intuitions not even he can explain.

* * *

 

_“Good morning Essentia! The weather’s lovely today, isn’t it? Makes me want to take a walk in the fresh air!”_

 

_“...Sir, it’s already evening. I believe one would already switch to “good evening” now.”_

 

_“It’s always good morning when I wake up, Essentia! Get caught up in things like common sense and you will never make any great discoveries of your life.”_

 

_“Seems irrelevant to your argument.”_

 

_“Don’t be like that Essentia! Also, I got something for you, to cheer up from trying to help me while doing physical therapy.”_

 

_“...Sir, you really didn’t have to give me figurine. It looks like to be made of expensive material, and you have to focus all of you rmoney to the project. You can’t spend it on useless, pretty things.”_

 

_“It’s a cute looking Espurr, isn’t it? Your favorite Pokemon? Why don’t you have it on your bed side, so every night, you can go sleep looking at it?”_

 

_“...Well, all right then. I possibly can’t refuse such a lovely gift...”_

* * *

 

_“Hey, good morning Essentia! I have something to say!”_

 

_“Hm, yes sir? What is it? I’m kind of busy right now.”_

 

_“You’re always busy, Essentia. I think I’ll die of old age before I get to say anything.”_

 

_“Does it have something to do with Malva? I haven’t seen her in a while.”_

 

_“Well...yes, actually. I’m going to be a father!”_

 

_“...I see. Congratulations.”_

 

_“What? You don’t have anything to say?”_

 

_“Nothing, really. It’s natural to have children, it’s a part of life. And you and Malva are happy enough to consider it...at least, I would assume so. I don’t think I can ever find someone happy enough to have children for me, and even then, I wouldn’t make a good mother anyways. I’m too weak to care for them properly.”_

* * *

 

In all of my weary life, Lysandre Cedrinus is one of the few birds I would ever recognize as worthy of my full respect. He was a warm light...a warm light I needed…

* * *

 

_“The view is lovely on top of this mountain tonight, isn’t it Essentia?”_

 

_“Yes...I feel more alive up here. A shame Malva couldn’t come. I hope that Trevor would be all right.”_

 

_“They’ll be fine. Malva’s strong, even when she’s sick like this.”_

_  
_ _“Haha...yeah. Her will sometimes is frightening.”_

 

_“Oh yeah, Essentia, before the meteor shower starts, I have something fascinating to show you!”_

 

_“What an impressive looking fossil. I’m surprised you managed to carry it up here so easily.”_

 

_“Haha...I had to ask for a special bag for it. But it’s so big! It’s really intriguing to look at!”_

 

_“You seem like an excited child right now.”_

 

_“I have an interest in geology too, you know! Also, relax more Essentia. You don’t need to be so cold. We’re up in the mountains! With the sky and the stars, our ancestors’ souls watching us from up there!”_

 

_“I’m not saying like it’s a bad thing. It’s kind of endearing, actually. But I do have to wonder where you get the idea that stars are spirits.”_

 

_“It just seems to make the most sense to me! After all, we feel the most alive up there! I imagine that they would wander the skies after not being held down by a physical body!”_

 

_“Hmm...if you think so.”_

 

_“Aw, lighten up Essentia! Oh yeah, do you have any time to make a business trip to me in a few days? I think I found a place that might have a cure for Malva…”_

 

_“I would love to go, but I’m really busy, plus someone has to watch the lab. I’ll go with you in the next one, I promise.”_

 

_“Aww...well okay then Essentia! I imagine going on a trip with you would be wonderful!”_

* * *

 

His last moments were horribly anticlimactic. He became sick from a disease endemic to the island where he went. When I saw him after he returned, he was so starved and pale, gasping desperately for breath. It was horrible to see such a proud, refined man like him in such an unrecognizable state.

 

The disease was nearly incurable. Many other birds had died from the illness. Even with wealth, they were beyond saving. So I was sure. Sure that he would die in the examination room, surrounded by his family.

* * *

 

_“Essentia...I always knew that...was a possibility.”_

 

_“Yes, sir.”_

 

_“I don’t regret...the way I did things.”_

 

_“It seems you are, sir.”_

 

_“Yes...I regret...not being...a proper father. I don’t even think Trevor...knows my face. I’d promise to take...a day off...for the first time...in years….”_

 

_“......”_

 

_“I want you...to do me one favor...Essentia. If you ever run into...my son...please...do something for him. In my stead.”_

 

_“...What do you mean, sir?”_

 

_“He’s...too nice. He’d never ask...for something...even if he wanted it.”_

 

_“It seems Malva raised him well.”_

 

_“Haha...yeah. But anyway, if you ever meet him...you don’t need to go...out of your way...to do that….please...grant him his greatest wish.”_

* * *

 

You vanished from my life before I ever told you my feelings. And I have chased your shadow ever since.

 

Why did I do that? I don’t know, even to this day. Was I doing what they say ‘quitting while ahead’? Was I being a coward? Did I want to pay back a debt that never existed? Or was I desperately chasing after the feeling of being loved and appreciated for? What was my goal? What did I _really_ want to do?

 

Trevor Cedrinus...he grew up so much to be like you. Maybe...just maybe...I finally found the only way to catch you.

* * *

_Seventh class end._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scene before Lys died is based off a scene in the Focus on the Hawks manga, which I really loved because of the interaction of Ryuuji/Lys and Isa/Essentia's. I decided to merge it with the more presumedly every day scene when Ryuuji/Lysandre announces leaving in the original, which may not be true because it was told by Shuu. (ha that rhymed)


	11. Eighth Class

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Strange Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMHi6KqsG6E  
> Emerald’s theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrMNnYMQw8s&t=47s  
> Freedom to Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OYiNJ6ipH4  
> Painful Reminiscence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxj_QyIjz1Q  
> X’s theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExeY005bXSc  
> X’s Truth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrFP7eqM48A  
> Light against a Shadow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0vsIXdPynA&t=7s
> 
> You probably want to turn on the X-Files theme too.

_ Eighth class start. _

* * *

The doctor was silent now, staring down at the ground as if it could save her. I felt a pang of sympathy now hearing all of this, but also disgusted at the possibility of her being my mother, even though logically, it never would have happened.

 

“When…when your father died…my world...changed.” She shook her head, laughing sadly, almost madly. “Now...confronting that...it seemed that his influence on me grew...for both the good and bad...or was it only the bad?” 

 

Cedrinus Lysandre...all I can remember of him now is his voice, and the color of his feathers. I never thought of him much, as he never came back home, always leaving mother and me alone. 

 

“So you did...all of this...to carry out my father’s will?”

 

Even that question sounds surreal to say.

 

She was silent, before nodded slowly. “....I would be lying if I said that this is purely out of a sense of duty...or curiosity while doing something else beneficial.” She then slowly looked up to me, a stoic look that had traces of confusion yet knowing. “But...I did grant you your wish...and it baffles me still on why you refuse to accept it and let it come to be.”

 

Those words before would have made me tackle her. But now, I’m too tired, and she clearly doesn’t seem to be raised in an environment that encouraged a proper sense of empathy.

 

“I only wanted a world without strife...where everyone doesn’t need to worry...about losing their family or friends...that’s the world that I wished for. Not where the all of the human race gets killed off.”

 

Her eyes narrowed, but she closed her eyes and she shook her head. “I should have asked more specifically. Then none of this would happen. Unless his views had...brainwashed me…”

 

“An utter fool, to completely repenting, to trying to be free from blame. Truly, a coward you are, Esprit,” Ruby muttered quite loudly for me to hear. 

 

“There is no power in prayer, Esprit,” I said, hoping my words will come through her. “I now know that eternal peace between humans and birds is impossible, but should be attempted to attained. And you can’t call him back from the Shadow Dragon’s kingdom by carrying out his final will and chasing after his shadow. So I end my wish today.”

 

She stared at me, almost as if I had said something completely insane. She then grinned maniacally, nearly scaring me before laughing mournfully and insanely, her voice and body shaking with sobs. “Kuhaha...haha...ha…HAHAHAHHAHAHA! I thought I had...lost my ability to cry…Oh, I have truly fallen. Why am I convincing myself that this had some good in it? It’s only bad. All bad, bad, bad. My plan that I had worked on for years fell apart by one fucking Togekiss, and now I’m surrounded by the Pokemon I nearly killed in mind and body, being pitied instead of killed and sent to whatever place I deserve.” She suddenly turned up to the ceiling, screaming, “DON’T YOU DARE PITY ME! STOP LOOKING AT ME RIGHT NOW! LOOK AT YOUR SON, WHO YOU NEVER LOVED UNTIL YOU LAID DYING!”

 

Dear gods...it seems now that she had lost every shred of sanity she had, or at least, tried to show. It’s terrifying, yet it makes my heart hurt.

 

She then turned back to look at me, wiping away her tears. “Very well. It now ends today. There’s nothing more I can do anyways.”

 

“Well, that’s good because we  _ really  _ need to get out of here now,” Gold piped up.

 

“We only have ten minutes until the dome opens and the humans flood in,” Ruby agreed. 

 

“Hello gentlemen! And Ms. Dorobo and Dr. Esprit!”

 

I turned around, and saw Mr. Emerald, giving us a relieved yet cheerful smile as a crowd of birds peeked from behind him. “Thank the gods for you all to be alive! And I brought everyone that was in the gym too, so we’re all safe!”

 

“Only to arrest me,” I heard Esprit bitterly mutter.

 

“This place looks really awesome! I never thought I would ever see it in real life!”

 

“I can’t believe the school is rich enough for this!” 

 

As the room began to be filled by compliments and conspiracy theories, I began to feel sick from the dissonance. They literally just learned there’s a secret underground lab under the school, and we’re right here, clearly exhausted, with the doctor literally showing she’s as bad or even worse than they imagined...and they’re focusing on how it looks so fancy and grand. But at the same time, at least there’s not a lot of panicking.

 

He then nodded at Ruby. “Mr. Amachi, I will recover Masayoshi’s body before I leave, don’t worry.”

 

Ruby dipped his head. “I am indebted to you, Mr. Kessho.”

 

“Oh, it’s fine, you don’t have to do anything,” he assured, then turned to the doctor. “My condolences, Dr. Esprit, but I need you to bring us to the exit. No doubt you know the signals to open it.”

 

She nodded slowly, shakily standing up. “You are correct. I’ll show you the exit, though I need to get rid of my paralysis first.”

 

Ruby took out a Lum berry and some Sitrus berries, then went up to her, dropping it on her wing before quickly scurrying back. She made no acknowledgement to his rudeness and ate it, before the yellow sparks around her disappeared. She shakily went up to her feet, then started walking with a slight limp. We slowly started following after her.

 

“It’s kind of weird watching the doctor to be cooperative,” Black remarked.

 

“My plan failed. I have nothing to gain or lose helping you all,” she gruffly replied. We walked until she stopped at a locked, medium sized screen. “Now, it’s…”

* * *

 

“Is that everyone?” Ruby asked, as we watched the last birds fly out of the hole to the tunnel that led up to the area of the forest nearest to the school. 

 

The professor, and Mr. Emerald checked the area, before nodding. “All clear.”

 

“Thank the gods,” Ruby sighed in relief, then turned to me. “Shall we go now, Cedrinus? Can you stand?”

 

“He can’t leave from here anymore,” Dr. Esprit pointed out. “He has to stay here, in the cryonic freezer. Any contact with any human will result in their death, and there is currently no way to remove the virus, since it’s quite tenacious.”

 

I...don’t mind that actually. I don’t really want to go harm another human...and I feel like Y’s here. X most likely will come down and visit, so at least I will have company. But this feels too good to be true...at the same time, the doctor has nothing to lose.

 

He then turned to the doctor, giving her a hateful glare that she showed no fear to. “Is that part of your plan doctor?”

 

“Actually–”

 

“Bah, I won’t listen to your lies. I rather let the judge do that. When we get out of here, I will make sure you  _ will _ face justice for your crimes.”

 

“And prevent Mr. Cedrinus from getting cured, quickly or at all?” She laughed bitterly. “One day of hell doesn’t make you a wise dragon, Mr. Amachi.”

 

Suddenly, a bright ball of silver light slammed into Dr. Esprit’s left side. She stumbled, before quickly regaining her footing.

 

“AGH! What–”

 

“Doctor!” I cried.

 

Another bright ball of silver slammed into her left side, and she fell down onto the ground, panting heavily. She looked up, and her eyes widened.

 

“Wh...Dorobo?”

 

We turned around, and we saw the professor, glaring down at her menacingly, as another ball of bright silver light formed in front of her. What the...

 

“Professor, what are you doing!? Stop attacking her!”

 

“What is this madness!? Who are you!?” Ruby demanded, as sparks of fire flew out of his mouth.

 

Suddenly three large ripples ran through the Mandibuzz, before she completely faded away in a silver light. When the light was gone, it revealed a skinny Xatu, with dull feathers and small patches of pale skin underneath. She had tired gold-silver eyes that may have once been bright before it grew dim from years of stress. On her scarf and under it were two ornate brooches glowing softly in silver light before fading away, completely identical in everything but color. What–   

 

“Professor!? Who are you!?” 

 

She walked slowly up to the doctor, stumbling as she went, a listless look on her face as the ball of light followed her, before she stopped in front of the doctor. With a flick of her wing, it slammed down on her head, and the doctor screeched in pain.

 

“AGH! Gahhh…” 

 

She summoned another ball of silver light, and slammed it on her head again, and again, and again. Each time, the doctor’s screams grew more horrifying, making me shudder and almost vomit.

 

The professor then summoned a larger ball of darker silver light, and turned to her, making no movement at all. “This is just a warning if you lie to us, to me, Crocea,” the professor warned, surprisingly clear and dull. “So tell me...where is he?”

 

“W-who?” 

 

The professor’s eyes then turned one that I imagined of Death’s. “You know who. I have to bring him back. That’s why I did all of this.” Her wing made one tiny movement that made me jolt. “Tell me where Xavier is.”

 

X!? She’s related to X!?

 

The doctor’s eyes widened, and I saw, for what seemed to be the first time, complete and utter remorse and fear from her. “Ah...how could I forget...Mr. Evans’ sister...she was a Xatu…”

 

She nodded, her eyes suddenly fading into one of pure grief. “Yes...I was his sister...but not by blood.”

* * *

_ I was born into the Berlitz family, a wealthy, ancient family hailing from Sinnoh. We were descendants of the Xatu companions of the human family, believed to be descended from the great god of knowledge Uxie himself. We were supporters of the Togekiss Party, living in their major center of Johto so we could give them our money and talents to push forward the era of peace between the remaining humans and birds.  _

 

_ But one day, the Staraptors came. They came slowly, as new servants, assistants, normal working birds were welcomed into our home. And then, they destroyed everything, with their own natural abilities, to the bombs and guns from war.  _

 

_ I was hiding in the nearby forest when they came. My mother and a few servants tried to defend me, but they all died while doing so. When they finally disappeared, I emerged and was found, taken into an orphanage for war orphans called the Hatoful House, for I had no family that could take care of me or be contacted. _

 

_ Xavier was one of them, and we lived with the other war orphans. As I was better at studying, I taught at a local school, for I had lost much of my wealth to the Staraptors, and the other birds had little to no money to their name. Some other birds at the orphanage go to work and school too, while others stayed home, too young, too sick like Xavier, or needed to watch them as they do schoolwork. But on Fridays we all sat together at one table to eat supper. We were a diverse family, all one together there. We ate whatever we liked and told jokes and stories, enjoying ourselves and ignoring the stress of the hours before. _

 

_ I remember that day so well. I had more work than usual that month, going back home so I can ask everyone what they wanted for Friday dinner. But whatever normalcy of that day vanished when I saw the security vehicles.  _

 

_ “There was an attack by the Human Liberation Front. We can’t let anybirdie in.” _

 

_ “A human negotiator has been sent in, but he was killed. We’re going to storm the place.” _

 

_ “Get back in! It’s too dangerous!” _

 

_ “Hey! Are you listening!? Get back!” _

 

_ I heard angry shouts and gunshots as I ran in, forming a protective barrier around myself. I had no idea if I was truly safe or not, but I didn’t care. Today was supposed to be our day. No one can be missing on a Friday. No one has before, and no one will. We have to be together, no matter what. No matter what. _

 

_ When I went in, there was only dead silence. I saw furniture overturned, bullet holes in the walls, and–   _

 

_ “Aghhhh! _

 

_ The bodies of humans, security forces, and my family, soaked in blood, faces frozen in horror and dissonant serenity for eternity. As I saw all of this, I wondered what sin we committed that made us punished by the gods. Our families and homes were all taken by war. This is our home, our only home, and this is our family, the only ones still alive. And now it’s gone. _

 

_ Why did we have to suffer? Why? _

 

_ “Pla..ti...num…” _

 

_ “Xavier!” _

 

_ “...you..were outside. Good.” _

 

_ “Xavier, you’re alive!” _

 

_ “...everyone...else?” _

 

_ “....” _

 

_ “I see.” _

_  
_ _ Xavier was hiding in the innermost room. He must have heard everything from his hiding place. Human corpses were scattered over the room...he should not have seen this. _

 

_ “Xavier...were you afraid? I’m so sorry...I wish–” _

 

_ “It wasn’t your fault...Platinum.” _

 

_ “I wasn’t here when you needed me!”  _

 

_ “Don’t apologize...Platinum. I...I don’t know how I would live if...you were gone too…” _

 

_ We cried as we walked out, leaving behind our home, our family, our dead attackers, now long gone to the life beyond. I didn’t try to look at them as I walked out of that room and throughout our empty house, but I should have noticed… _

 

_ I should have noticed that none of the humans in that room had wounds. _

* * *

 

_ “This will be apartment will be ours for now on...the house is just too big for both of us.” _

 

_ “...Yes.” _

 

_ “...It feels a little lonely.” _

 

_ “...Yes.” _

 

_ “Platina...what should I do? Isn’t there anything I can do? We’re all done unpacking now...” _

 

_ “All I need you to do is to study, be happy, and well. Don’t push yourself. We’ll find something for you to do, okay?” _

* * *

 

_ “Xavier, what did I tell you about going off to fight in tournaments!?” _

 

_ “But I won...ow! I got the prize money…...that would...help.” _

 

_ “Yes, but you’re now injured! And please, stay still! Let me bandage your leg!” _

_  
_ _ “Ow!” _

 

_ “Now you’re all patched up! And don’t go sneaking out again!” _

 

_ “Platina–cough–you don’t have your family’s wealth anymore. I have to go and get–” _

_  
_ _ “No, you must stay here, study, and rest. Don’t worry about our financial situation. That’s why I work for both of us.” _

 

_ “But you’re young–cough–and forced to support me. I’m just a burden to you.” _

 

_ “Don’t ever say that! You are my brother, and you will always be needed! And you shouldn’t hurt yourself to make you feel that!” _

 

_ “...You’re just saying this to make me feel better.”  _

 

_ “No, I really mean it. But now it’s almost dinner. You must be hungry now.” _

 

_ “...Yes. A little.” _

 

_ “I’ll go pick some millet in the back and make some for dinner. That’ll make things better.” _

* * *

 

I noticed it almost as soon as we moved out of Hatoful House. Xavier was always sick, but it got worse. The strain from the brief time of fighting in tournaments came and stayed for a long time. Small colds turned into fevers, lasting for days. Medicine only helped for a brief time, before its side effects followed. 

 

It was painful to watch. Was it really just his weak body? I couldn’t do anything.

* * *

 

_ “Thank you...for the meal, Platina, I’ll–COUGH–” _

 

_ “Xavier, you shouldn’t be washing the dishes! You’re coughing so much!” _

 

_ “Platina, you–” _

 

_ “And your head’s so hot! You’re having a high fever! We need to get you to the doctor!” _

 

_ “I’m...fine...really. You don’t...have to worry…” _

 

_ “Go rest! I’ll do the dishes for you!” _

 

_ “I...told you….I’m...fine.” _

 

_ “Xavier, if you tell me truthfully on what you’re feeling, I’ll feel better too.” _

 

_ “But…” _

 

_ “Okay, from now on, ‘I’m fine’ is not allowed.” _

 

_ “But I really–” _

 

_ “Whenever you say ‘I’m fine’, you never are. Go rest now. I’m bringing you to the doctor tomorrow.” _

* * *

 

_ “This is highly unusual. Xavier has a genetic condition which impairs his immune system.” _

 

_ “How severe is the impairment?” _

 

_ “Extremely so. His immune system is abnormally weak. Even diseases that your body or mine could easily fight off can hurt him severely. It’s best if he stays inside, so he would have a less likely chance of encountering more dangerous viruses and become seriously ill with little to no warning.” _

 

_ “Please, can you cure him!? I will find whatever money it takes. I will work hard and live up to my family name to do! He’s the only family I have left!” _

 

_ “I understand how you feel, but his condition is hereditary. I have never seen anything like it. I’m sorry, but I can’t help him.” _

* * *

 

We went to many hospitals, and I talked to many doctors. They all said the same thing: “I can’t help him.”

 

I worked hard and ended up as a professor in Rainbow Wing Academy, as well as a lecturer at a preparatory school. But it wasn’t enough. The money spent for research brought nothing, the medicine helped only briefly.

 

Someone...please save Xavier. Merciful gods...he’s the only family I have. Anyone. I’ll do anything. We’ve all been alone, but we found a home together. I already lost them twice. I can’t lose another one again. 

 

Please…someone help us.

* * *

 

My prayers were answered when one day, when I found a letter on my desk. From a bird named Essentia Crocea-Franxi, a researcher of Rainbow Wing’s Medical Center. 

 

_ “I have received a report about a Decidueye named Evans Xavier from a doctor of a certain hospital. I believe I know his condition, and while it is extremely rare, my group of researchers and I would gladly assist in curing him. So we would like to invite him to the school to stay at the center and be provided excellent education and medical care. You have no need to pay for the tuition _ _ — _ _ for we will do it _ _ — _ _ and you will be able to visit him almost every day thanks to your work here. _

 

_ We believe that finding the cure to his illness will bring great advances to all bird science. Please consult this with the rest of your family, and if you are interested, you can contact me with this address, or my phone number. – Essentia Crocea-Franxi” _

* * *

 

_ “This is amazing Xavier! I’m so glad that we went to so many hospitals! I never expected an invitation like this! The school is so selective and usually never would accept family of their own faculty members! _

 

_ “....I don’t want to go. I want to stay here, with you Platinum.” _

 

_ “But you can’t stay with me forever. And you would be able to go to school! I may be a teacher, but I don’t know everything. And besides, we’ll see each other every day! ” _

 

_ “...It’s not the same. I won’t be here with you at night. And it’s not my room, it’s a hospital’s.” _

 

_ “But you can make friends there! And the doctors will be there to help with your illness, so you won’t have to be sick!” _

 

_ “...Do you just want to get rid of me Platinum?” _

 

_ “Xavier, of course I want you here! I’m just worried that I...I might not be able to do anything if you get severely ill. So that’s why I think it’s better for you to stay with the doctors. Sure, it will be lonely at home at night without you...but I can wait until you get better. Grow strong, Xavier, and come back here. We will be together...no matter how long we have to wait.”  _

 

_ “...Yes, Platinum.” _

* * *

 

And so, Xavier enrolled into Rainbow Wing Academy. I made sure that I visited every day to talk about what I did, talk about what he did, sometimes giving him small gifts and food. But when I left to go home, I at first would think he would come with me, until I realized he wouldn’t, and I had to be home at night alone. There had been a lot of us in Hatoful House, and after that, I had Xavier, so it was painfully lonely for a while, but I worried more about him. 

How was he doing at night? Did he eat well? Were the doctors treating him well? Did he make any new, good friends? He wasn’t really the sociable type. 

 

But I told myself then that at least his life there was easier than here. They will find a cure for him. He will live, and be happy.

* * *

 

_ The summer of that year, he sent a lot of letters home.  _

 

_ “I’m going to be undergoing intensive treatment over the summer. I wanted to come home but they said it was better for me to stay. How are you, Platina? I will write again soon.” _

 

_ “I asked Dr. Crocea about a meeting, but she said no. There are other students with unusual illnesses within the center, and they have to be careful on who to let in. I’m sad about that, but I trust her. You know she’s a kind and honest bird, though I can’t help but feel there’s something more to her…” _

 

_ “Hey Platina, is it hot outside right now? I imagine it would be now that summer is halfway through. The basement here is always the same light and temperature so I can never tell...I kind of wish I was outside.” _

_  
_ _ “I miss you, Platina.” _

 

_ “I’m fine. I’m fine, Platina. You don’t have to worry.” _

* * *

 

I was worried. Xavier never said he was ‘fine’ ever since he promised not to a few years ago. What are they doing to him? What horrible things are they doing to him?

 

I tried calling Dr. Crocea, but she always replied, “Everything’s fine, progress is good. There’s no need to worry.”

 

If there’s truly no need to worry, then why am I not allowed to see him?

* * *

 

_ I snuck into the medical center. I need to know if he really is all right. He said he was going through intensive care in the basement. That must be where he is. But how do I get there? Where’s the entrance to the basement? _

 

_ Then, red lights covered my eyes, and loud, blaring alarms filled my ears. Wings frantically flapped, and I was afraid I was caught for a moment. The building had all the advanced technology there was then. But I was caught in another worry when I didn’t see guards but workers, leaving panickedly to any exit as they shouted, “FIRE! FIRE!” _

 

_ “What fire!?” _

 

_ “A fire! Subject 00 set a fire! Call the fire department!” _

 

_ I turned to the inner corridors, black smoke billowing out. Xavier!? Where is he!? Where’s Xavier!? I can’t– _

 

_ “XAVIER! SAY SOMETHING! I’M COMING TO GET YOU! CAN YOU HEAR ME!? I’M COMING!” _

 

_ I ran straight into those corridors, forming a protective barrier around myself to run for a brief time into the smoke safely. It won’t last long, and eventually, I will suffocate to it horrible stench, but this is payment to my foolishness, never learned from before. Xavier needed me, and I wasn’t there. I always leave him alone when he’s in pain, nearing the clutches of death. This is the price I must pay. _

* * *

 

_ When I arrived at Xavier’s room, gray smoke had blinded me, and I was coughing, my skin seeming to be burning. But I could see massive, deathly flames in there and dark smoke pouring out of there, then Dr. Crocea-Franxi herself, walking out burnt and weak while helped by two researchers. A protective barrier was formed around all three of them, but it weakened at every moment. _

 

_ “Are you insane!? Get out of here, now! I’ll evacuate you with my–” _

 

_ I ran in, trying to look through the stinging, black smoke. “Xavier! It’s me, Platina! I’m here to save you!” _

 

_ “Pla...tina…” _

 

_ “What–cough–happened!? What did they do to you!? Xavier!? Cough! Are you listening!? Get out of here! I’m taking you home!” _

 

_ His face clouded, and instantly, I felt myself pulled away from the room. Before I could run in, the door slammed shut, then the lock clicked after. _

 

_ I tried to break that door down, despite the smoke making me feel weak, then trying to call him through telepathy.  _

 

_ ‘ _ **_Xavier, please...open the door. Come back...come back home…’_ **

 

**_‘...I’m sorry...Platinum...I can’t...go outside anymore...I...can’t live anymore. Please...forgive me….’_ **

 

**_‘What did...they do..to you? I’m...I’m the fool! All this time...I thought you were getting better...that you were going to be cured...! I should be the one apologizing, Xavier. Please...come back home! To our home!’_ **

 

**_‘Listen...Platina...I hid everything I recorded...on what they did...in the library. What they did...was wrong...horrible...and the only way to stop this...is for me to die.’_ **

 

_ ‘ _ **_What are you...talking about!? Explain...later! You can’t...die!’_ **

 

_ I tried to break down the door again, but I was losing breath, too weak from the fire and grief, too blind from tears.  _

 

_ ‘ _ **_...Can you do me a favor, Platinum?’_ **

 

**_‘Anything! Please–’_ **

 

**_‘Please...make sure there is nothing left of my body…’_ **

 

**_‘Xavier, no!’_ **

 

**_‘...And–’_ **

* * *

 

“Berlitz….Platinum…” the doctor murmured to herself, still in awe. “You were declared dead...a few years ago. We investigated into that...but it seems you fooled us all. Holding an impenetrable illusion is extremely difficult...your power and skill are truly things not to be underestimated.”

 

Yes...powerful enough to be able to fool her family, her close friends Professor Supesu and Jikan, still grieving for her this day, not knowing she lied, lied so gravely from the trauma and vengeance that clung on her for years.

 

The professor seemed to not have heard her, only calling to the ceiling in a shaky yet clear voice, “Xavier...he’s calling. He’s calling me....where is he? I came here to get him. Tell me...Crocea…”

 

The professor shook her head, glowering at her in hope to intimidate her, but the pure terror in her eyes made her fail. “You’ve already lost your grip on reality. He’s dead–”

 

She immediately stopped when the professor shot her a deadly glare. “I’m serious, Crocea. And any lie you say to me will give you a painful death. Be careful with your words...I already know from him on what you did to him. I know you closed this facility to hide them. But I have been waiting since the beginning, Crocea...waiting for this to be reopened since I came back here...waiting to get him back...and my patience is almost up. Tell me where he is.”

 

The doctor sighed in defeat, looking down at the ground. “W-well...there are some remains of Evans left after the fire, which I preserved...but if you rather call those bits of charred flesh ‘Xavier’, then I won’t try to stop you...though they already are transferred in Cedrinus’s body anyways, so there’s no point trying to retrieve them.”

 

Suddenly, another ball of silver light slammed into the doctor, and she screamed. Oh gods...I hope she’s not that insane enough to–

 

“I won’t let you just die yet, Crocea,” the professor assured, an eerie, gentle smile on her face. “Don’t worry. Don’t worry at all...if you tell me where exactly is he. I need to bring him home, you know.”

 

She sighed once more. “...If you really want to get your Xavier...just some pieces of flesh after the fire...he’s in Mr. Cedrinus’s liver. It’s for the purpose to make him the carrier of the Charon Virus from Xavier’s cells.”

 

The eerie smile grew on the professor’s face. “Oh, is that all? Thank you, Crocea. Now, I must ask him on what to do with you later…so try to stay here for a bit.”

 

She then hobbled over to me, her smile gentler yet more frightening. I tried to move, but was too terrified, too tired, and shaking too much to do so. Gods, please, help me, help me help me help me help me–

 

“Xavier...can you hear me? I’m sorry that I made you wait so long...but I’m here.”

 

“I-I’m n-not y-your X-Xavier, Professor Dorobo! I-I’m C-Cedrinus T-Trevor, f-from your class! P-Please...p-please snap out of it!”

 

Suddenly, Ruby flew down and landed in front of me, spreading his wings as if hoping it would protect me, then lowered his head into a battle stance. “Return to reality, Dorobo! You can’t harm an innocent from your blind grief and rage! We must leave before this dome opens up and the humans above kills us all! It won’t take long for them to get down here!”

 

The smile vanished, turning into a deathly glare that made even Ruby shake. “Move away, Amachi, just for a moment. I need to talk with Cedrinus. If you don’t, then I will.”

 

Ruby then took a deep breath, but the professor’s eyes glowed bright silver, and a ball of yellow sparks flew right into him, before he was flung into the wall. She suddenly ran up to me in terrifying speed, and bright silver light blinded me.

 

When it faded away, I realized I was in a empty, dim room. I saw the professor, locking the door with her psychic powers, before turning towards me, walking slowly as her right wing slowly grew steely gray. Oh no, oh no oh no oh no–   

 

“Crocea said he’s in your liver, didn’t he?” She stared thoughtfully at my stomach. I tried to cover it up, but for some reason, my wings couldn’t move. “Where is the liver, I wonder? Do you know Cedrinus?”

 

“P-professor, X w-would n-never want this!”

 

I tried to move away, but I couldn’t. My body feels too heavy and weak from fighting, and possibly from her psychic powers. There’s no way I can fight her.

 

“Xavier...Xavier...Xavier...can you hear me?” she called softly, her eyes growing more desperate and unhinged. “I’ve come to bring you home. Where are you? Tell me…Xavier. Xavier. Xavier. Xavier. Xavier. Xavier. Xavier. Xavier. Xavier. Xavier. Xavier. Xavier.”

 

“P-professor, listen to me!”

 

She didn’t seem to hear me, her eyes focused on my stomach. She moved her steeled wing from one place to another, seeming to make an estimation, as she slowly creeped up to me. Oh gods, someone,  _ someone help me! _

 

“Oh I see. It’s hide and seek,” she mumbled, then smiled eerily, coming up closer to me. I tried to crawled myself backwards, but my body felt heavy. “I promise to look hard, and then we will be home in a little bit, okay Xavier? Then we will be–”

 

Suddenly, she lurched forward, her wing ready to swing into my stomach. I closed my eyes, preparing for the pain.

 

But it didn’t came.

 

“Stop it, Platinum.”

 

...X? 

 

I opened my eyes, looking for him, but he wasn’t there. I saw that the professor in front of me, her wing having hit the wall under my wing and returned back to its normal state. She seemed to have seen Death herself, glancing around the room desperately for his voice.

 

“Xavier? Xavier, where are you!?”

 

“I’m here,” I– _ he _ –said. 

 

I then heard him say within my mind,  _ “Trevor, let me use your body for a bit.” _

 

Yes, X. Please…please save her...and please save me...

* * *

 

“Platina...can you hear me?” 

 

Please...please let this work…

 

She nodded, confused at my presence within Trevor. “Of course. I’ve talked with you every night. You told me to get you, and exact revenge against Crocea.”

  
Just as I feared...her powers, her grief, her trauma...they corrupted her. Blocking her away from the truth. The sympathies from Trevor now weighs down on me in my chest...I should have seen that.

 

“No, Platina. That was not me. I never told you to do that. Did you remember the second thing I told you to do?”

 

She nodded again, even more confused. “Of course I did...of course I remembered. So let’s go home.”

 

Platina was always determined and strong willed, but that will easily became stubbornness. She was a former noble, supposedly descended from the god of wisdom, and the perfect child of the orphanage. To be able to control fate, be like a god…that’s what she must have believed. Why was I so blind to that?

 

“Platinum, listen, I am no longer here. I can no longer go home with you. My home is the Heavenly Mountains, and I must leave this place and go there one day.”

 

Her eyes narrowed in rage, making Trevor’s body shake. “Who told you that? Was it Crocea? It has to be her, only she would say something cruel like that.”

 

“No, it wasn’t her.”

 

“Don’t worry Xavier,” she declared, a mad gleam that would have looked terrifying to me if I was alive. “I will take care of her. Don’t worry.”

 

To think a long time ago, I would have agreed to this, to let her to exact revenge...an idiot I was.

 

“I never told you to come get me. I never told you to exact revenge on Dr. Crocea either. Who told you that?”

 

I didn’t need an answer to that. But hopefully, she will realize…

  
Platina stared at me questioningly, with growing hostility in her eyes. “It was you, Xavier. Xavier–”

 

Suddenly, her eyes turned into a dark, dull silver, and a streak of shadow flew out of her head and dived into the ground next to me. It then formed into a shadowy, transparent Decidueye, standing as tall as me when I was alive. 

 

**_“I died because of you. You abandoned me here. I didn’t want to come here. It was you who killed me. You killed me. You killed me. You killed me. You killed me. I will not forgive you, Platina.”_ **

 

Oh gods, she gave form to–  

 

She started crying, nodding. “I’m so sorry, Xavier. I’m so sorry for leaving you there...even though no apology can ever repair the damage…”

 

_ “W-what is that thing X!?”  _ Trevor questioned within his thoughts.

 

_ “It is the shadow in Platina’s heart, pretending to be me. She gave that shadow, that illusion, to have some sort of form...and now it haunts her since my death.” _

 

**_“Come for me, Platina. I’m here.”_ **

 

“I know...I know...I won’t leave you alone. I don’t want to be alone either…”

 

**“** **_You will never forget me. You will live with me and your sin forever. This is your price for your ignorance.”_ **

 

She bowed her head, seeming to be reluctant. “If that is what you want, I will do it, Xavier. I will carry this pain forever…I won’t ask forgiveness...I won’t…I’m so sorry, Xavier. I’m so sorry.”

 

Tortured by her own shadow, broken, torn apart, by her own mind, thought to be me...I should have chosen better. I shouldn’t have been so selfish, only focusing to be a normal young bird. I should have went home…but would it even matter, when her heart is no longer pure?

 

_ “What’s the point of mourning the past, X?” _ Trevor asked within his thoughts.  _ “You now have the opportunity to save her, to save me, to save Dr. Esprit and Ruby, who may still be here and unable to move. And the professor desires to be forgiven, desires to be saved. Please...save her, together.” _

 

Yes Trevor...I can’t let doubt cripple me now. 

 

“Platina...I don’t want you to be in pain.”

 

“You desired to be saved...you desire to be forgiven...to be free,” Trevor added. “Please...let yourself follow that.”

 

**_“Don’t listen to them,”_ ** the shadow snarled.  **_“I was tortured here by those researchers, treated like a criminal in hell. Crocea and the others should be inflicted with the hell, to die painfully and never feel rest. For as long as they live, my pain shall never end.”_ **

 

“Ms. Dorobo...you shouldn’t seek revenge,” Trevor said. “It’s wrong, and you and X had lost so much from strife. You should know best that revenge brings nothing but misery.”

 

“If I had been there...Xavier wouldn’t have died,” she murmured. “I was never there when he needed me…I’m so sorry Xavier.” She started sobbing, dropping down and covering her eyes, trembling heavily. “I s-should have b-been better…this would n-never have h-happened! I-if y-you had n-never met m-me...you w-would n-never have f-felt this pain...”

 

Lies. Complete and utter lies. She was a blessing in my life...I may have been worse off without her...

 

“What makes you think that, Platina?” I asked. “The time you spend with me was my greatest treasure. I am very grateful that I could spend my life with you. I had no regrets at all about it when I died.”

 

“His feelings are true, Ms. Dorobo,” Trevor agreed. “I know how it is like to spend time with your most loved ones...he loved you very dearly, and enjoyed all of his times with you.”

 

**_“Come with me, Platina,”_ ** the shadow ordered.  **_“Look only at me, Platina. Hear only my voice, Platina. I will tear apart your heart in pieces. And when it heals, I will do it again, and again, and again.  That is your punishment. It will be wonderful to live with me again. Wonderful.”_ **

 

I can’t bear to listen to her shadow talk anymore...tearing her apart...please...please hear me...hear me Platina.

 

“Platina...blame yourself no more. Please...listen to me. That voice you hear...that is not me. That is just your own shadow, your own trauma, your own grief, your own guilt. You were only hurting yourself this whole time.” I felt tears in Trevor’s eyes, but I wasn’t certain if they were my own or his. “Stop blaming yourself. I don’t want to see you in pain.”

 

She shook her head, sobbing even more. “How can I? You told me to do two things...The first was ‘Come save me’. So I–”

 

“That is not true, Platina,” I interrupted. “Listen to me...my first wish was to make sure there is no trace of my body, left on this world. As long as my body exists here, someone can use it and make someone else the carrier of the Charon Virus. You already saw it today, with Cedrinus Trevor and Gabena Yvonne, two dearest friends torn apart by my own body.” 

 

More tears fell from my eyes, and I felt like sobbing, but I tried to swallow it down. “It should have been gone to prevent a tragedy like that.”

 

Platina hung her head in shame, sobbing even more. “I-I’m s-so sorry...s-so sorry for my d-deafness...m-my p-pride–”

 

“What’s done is done, you can’t change it anymore, Platina,” I interrupted. “My second wish is–”

 

“Your second w-wish i-is t-to exact r-revenge on C-crocea and the r-researchers,” she stammered, quaking in guilt and now fury. “T-they c-caused a-all o-of t-this. Yes...I m-must–”

 

I felt frustration boiling at her extreme pride and guilt, but I had to direct it to the truth, not lash out against her her stubbornness. 

 

“Platinum! Listen to me! My second wish was not revenge. Remember my wish, Platinum, please…”

* * *

 

_ “It’s not the matter of whether you help me or not, Xavier. You’re part of the family, and we need you.” _

 

_ “That doesn’t help. With my body like this, I can’t work, fight, or go to school. That’s just how it is.” _

 

_ “You’re thinking too hard Xavier. Let’s go pick some millet in the yard. It’s almost dinner. A full stomach scares away all the bad things, right?” _

 

_ “...Okay.” _

* * *

 

_ “What a beautiful sunset...it seems to be autumn already. Are you cold, Xavier?” _

 

_ “...I’m fine.” _

_  
_ _ “If you insist, Xavier.” _

 

_ “...Platinum.” _ _  
_

_  
_ _ “Hmm?” _

 

_ “...It would be easier for you without me, right?” _

 

_ “What makes you think that, Xavier?” _

 

_ “I heard you and the others talking about it. Medicine costs more than food. You’re paying this out of your salary, right? You could have used that to buy better food. You wouldn’t have to work so much. So, you would be better off without me.” _

 

_ “Never say that Xavier. You mean more to me than fancy food, free time, any of those luxuries. You mean more to us than you think, Xavier. You possibly don’t remember this, as you were very young when you came here...but losing family is hard. I want to stay like this forever...watching the people I love.” _

 

_ “....” _

 

_ “So listen, Xavier. It may seem that I’m just working for you...but I’m working for myself too. Seeing you happy makes me happy.”  _

 

_ “...Thank you, Platina. But I just wish I wasn’t a burden to you…” _

 

_ “Stop that right now. You are never a burden to me, or any of us. Here, have some millet. Eat well so we can sleep well, Xavier. Hopefully, good dreams will come…and I hope we can stay like this with everyone forever.” _

 

_ “...Yes. I hope so too.” _

* * *

 

“...My second wish was for you to live, to live and be happy, Platinum.” 

 

The shadow next to me faded away, and Platina started sobbing even more. “I-i c-can’t be happy X-Xavier...y-you’re gone. A-and...I c-can’t b-be w-with you anymore…”

 

“Look at me, Platina.” She shakily looked up. “I want you to live, and not feel guilty for what happened to me. I made my choice, and I did not regret it now. It was never your fault.”

 

“B-but e-even then...I-i can’t g-go o-on without you…” she murmured, sniffling. “I c-can’t l-live without you!”

 

I shook my head. “I thought so too when I died...that I could never live without you too...that’s why I stayed here, at this school, to spend a year as a normal bird, and to be with you, and only you.”

 

I took a deep breath, and sighed, trying to ignore the pain that still remained after those long five years.“But you couldn’t see me, and I felt uneasy. I was powerless, unable to help you, forced to spent the past five years alone in the library...but when I met Gabena Yvonne and Cedrinus Trevor...I knew I was wrong.”

 

I sighed, trying to not think of how grave my mistakes were. “We both have been stuck in the past for too long, Platina. We have to move on. I have to leave this school once I finished my school year, but I already learned to go on, as I should. Now it’s your turn. Return to your other friends, your work, and your students, Platina. Please...let both of us rest properly.”

 

I then let myself a smile, at the thought of returning to the Mountains, where my family is, where Y may be, and to see Platina again, old and happy hopefully. “But don’t worry, Platina. I promise that we will meet again after I leave. Somewhere...sometime.”

 

_ “And Trevor...thank you, for everything.” _

* * *

 

“Cedrinus, are you okay!?” Ruby cried. “Did she hurt you? If she did, I’ll–”

 

“I’m fine, Ruby,” I assured, a small smile forming on my face.

 

“I would have expected you dead, given her severely eroded insanity,” Dr. Esprit muttered, still lying on the floor and weak from the attacks.

 

The professor stared down at her in silence. It’s strange now seeing her disguised. Even in my tiredness, I still wonder who that bird she disguised as was...but I don’t think I want to know.

 

Ruby then turned to her, and cried, “I will not forgive this madness Do–”

 

“Please, don’t worry about it Ruby,” I sighed. “It’s already over. We’re already out of time, we should leave now.”

 

“Indeed,” he agreed.

 

“But I have to take you to the cyronic freezer,” Dr. Esprit piped up, and I saw her being helped up by the professor, seeming to have recovered from the attacks. “It’s safely hidden away from other birds’ prying eyes, so it should be the same for the humans.”

 

“Well, take us quickly then, Esprit!” Ruby cried. 

 

“Of course, Amachi,” the doctor sighed, and with a flash of orange light, we were in front of a massive, heavily secured gray gate. 

 

“What could you have possibly stored in there?” Ruby muttered, glaring at it suspiciously. 

 

“Not a lot you would care, except perhaps Evans Xavier’s remains,” she shrugged, pressing some buttons on the panel to open the gate. “But I will put you to sleep here, Mr. Cedrinus, to wait until technology grows advanced enough to remove the tenacious virus from his body. Even removing Evans’ tissues will not remove it.”

 

It seems so strange for her to be this kind and generous...but again, a decade of work dedicated to her deceased mentor’s son was foiled by six outsiders.

 

“I have preserved the remains of Gabena’s brain in a glass jar...barely, anyways,” she continued. “It seems that her memories and personality may not be retrievable at all…”

 

“With the current technology, that is,” the professor pointed out, then turned to me with deep worry in her eyes. “But is this where you want to spend possibly years of your life, Cedrinus? Sleeping there, with the hope of being safe for humans?”

 

I nodded. It’s a difficult choice, but one I would do without hesitation. “Yes...at least I would be with Y here…”

 

“If that is what you want, Cedrinus,” the professor agreed, dipping her head to me, then started walking away, gesturing for a fuming Ruby to follow. “Let’s go, Amachi.” A sad, genuine smile formed on her face. “One day, we will come back for him, and he will be free from the Virus’ tragedies...never to repeat what happened to Xavier again.

 

Ruby looked ready to fight back, until the doctor said, “You should go quickly, Mr. Amachi. It is best for you to respect Mr. Cedrinus’ wishes on the matter.”

 

“Yes, yes I know that,” he grumbled. 

 

I nodded, letting out a tired laugh. “This whole day brought an entire lifetime of fatigue...I think I need to sleep for a few years to recover…”

 

Then the thought of Mother went to mind, and I knew that as much as I wished I could be back with her, I knew I couldn’t do that without hurting myself or her. “But Ruby...please take care of Mother. I’m worried about her...she’s very sick and lonely. And please...tell her I will return one day. I swear this on the gods’ name.”

 

“I have to put you into rest soon, Mr. Cedrinus,” the doctor reminded, then turning back to pressing some buttons. “You have to finish your goodbyes now.”

 

Ruby nodded slowly, a solemn look in his eyes. “Yes...yes I will do that, Trevor. I swear I will never go back on my word...and I swear on my honor, and on Gabena’s good spirit that I will return for you one day, no matter how long it takes, be it months, years, or centuries.” I thought I saw some tears in his eyes. “So please...promise you will leave this place alive.”

 

I nodded, feeling Ruby’s fear and tearing up also. “Yes...yes I promise. I will wait for you, for the others, as long as it takes.” I turned to the doctor, beckoning me to come quickly, then back to him. “Goodbye, Ruby, until we meet again.”

* * *

 

_ “A lot sure has happened today, Y.” _

 

_ “Oh thank gods you’re giving me the recap now! I’m so confused, and it’s so surreal being dead.” _

 

_ “Ahaha...yeah, it seems you only saw the bits and pieces of today.” _

 

_ “It’s hard trying to stay on earth while feeling like I need to pull away from it and go to the afterlife. Probably should have consulted it with Yveltal and Giratina before doing that…but you were way more important in my mind then.” _

 

_ “Ahaha...thanks Y. I don’t know how I deserved you and your company, after all of that…” _

 

_ “Shut up Trevor! You’re one of the most important people of my life! You didn’t mean to do any of that! I still love you either way!” _

 

_ “A-ah...thanks Y.” _

 

_ “It’s no problem, Trevor. But anyways, can you please tell me the whole story so I can understand how that happened?” _

 

_ “Of course Y. We have all the time in the world.” _

 

_ “I’m going to miss being alive and feel the wind of the sky...but having you here makes everything better.” _

 

_ Where do I start? Everything’s that happened, what’s happening now, and what will happen...but we have plenty of time to talk about it. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End credits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SNDGjTko4k
> 
> There will be an epilogue, and release of the second series in some time. More details on the AU will be revealed in the final chapter. This isn’t the official ending.
> 
> Also, I'll be honest, this chapter does come off as completely nowhere, which may not capture the desired reaction from readers. It's also shoehorned almost out of nowhere in the original route too, with the main conflict seemingly resolved until the teacher swoops in to destroy the supposed happy ending. The hints that the teacher's actually suffering from a shitty past is really vague and almost like throwaway lines too, so to me at least, it was somewhat of a nuisance to watch, because I spent hours on this already, I just want to see these dudes outta here and not die. Not helping that the teacher should have known better to not take on revenge, like Ryouta (Trevor) stated himself, but did it anyways, and end up being an unnecessary masochist for five years. So I made sure to make this as less shoehorned out of nowhere, directly mention a motive besides losing her family twice, and X to get mad at her, because while he may be compassionate, he doesn't have the patience of a saint. 
> 
> My reasons to choose Plat is also rather strange at first glance, but Plat herself is willing to enter a world where the laws of physics barely exists and a dangerous banished godly dragon live to save her two bodyguards she doesn't even know in canon. Now imagine if this was her sibling who died, after watching her two families die painfully.


	12. At the Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of Y's birthday, I shall upload the end to the story that makes her go through shit, and the series that makes her go through even more shit, but still come out on top. Sort of.
> 
> Hope of a Better Life/Epilogue theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ESbCykDZx0

I fidgeted with my wings, eagerly waiting for Mr. Kessho to arrive. He had sent me a letter a few days ago to come meet here at the cafe-bar where he had good news. It seems that this place is where many Togekiss agents relaxed and chatted during their breaks or after-hours of their tiring day, so it’s not much of a surprise he would take me here. I had drank all of my water and ate all the simple meals and deserts I ordered a long time ago. What is taking him so long!?

 

Finally, Mr. Kessho entered in the cafe, beaming proudly, with the bird I never thought I would see alive at all, if I hadn’t been told of that before. But even knowing he had a chance of being alive, tears still blinded me then and now.

 

“RAKUTSU!” I cried, and immediately tackled him in a hug. 

 

“Ah Ruby!” He gently patted my back. “It’s so good to see you too. It seems you have missed me.”

 

“Much more than I would like to proudly admit,” I muttered, feeling slightly embarrassed from all my moping when I thought he was dead. I then looked up to Mr. Kessho, giving him a grateful smile. “Thank you, so much Mr. Kessho, for giving him the antidote.”

 

“It’s not a problem,” he laughed. “I would miss him terribly too if he died.” His smile then faded a bit. “But unfortunately, Mr. Masayoshi must leave to a mission soon, to regain the department’s trust.”

 

No! I spent a year not able to see anything from him but his letters, and now I have to spend a day or more without him after seeing him again!?

 

“What!? We haven’t even sat down to eat and talk about what happened this past year!”

 

Rakutsu laughed softly. “It’s okay Ruby. I’ll come back as soon as I can so we can do that. But for now, just rest easy, all right?” He gently patted my back. “You must have a hard year, with running the student council and grieving.”

 

I nodded. “Yes, it was quite difficult, but I managed to pull through. That is my way of life. Goodbye, Rakutsu, and stay safe.”

 

“Adieu, Ruby,” he said with a gentle smile. “And I promise I will.”

 

“Goodbye to you too Mr. Amachi!” Mr. Kessho said, before flying out with Rakutsu.

* * *

 

I walked on the track, taking in the fresh air. It’s a beautiful day...a peaceful one...one without– 

 

“HEY GOLD!” Shiro screamed, and I turned around to see him running up to Higure, eating something from a white sack. “YOU HAVE COFFEE BEANS!?”

 

He turned around, and nodded eagerly. “Yes, the Black Beandonna! Come, join me Reshiro!”

 

They then started munching on those ghastly, bitter beans, surprisingly not retching from eating it. I can never understand what makes them like it...but as long as they enjoy themselves.

* * *

 

It’s a lovely sunset today...but then again, today has been a wonderful day, even though it has been quite hot, usual as a summer here. Feels like centuries ago since that day happened…

 

“Oh hello Mr. Amachi! Taking a stroll right now?”

 

I turned around, and I immediately spit out a small spark of flame on my wing to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I wasn’t. Berlitz Platinum...pushing the wheelchair...of Emma Esprit? The bird who was indirectly responsible for her brother’s death. This is actually in real life. As in the words of Shiro and Higure: what in the fucking name of all things holy?

 

“P-professor!? Why are you pushing Esprit’s wheelchair? I would never have expected to see you two together!”

 

“I did too Mr. Amachi,” Esprit muttered, then laughed bitterly. “But I suppose taking responsibility for poor, pitiful me is a good enough of an apology.”

 

The professor nodded in agreement, a sad smile on her face. “Yes...I do need to apologize. Just saying ‘sorry’ isn’t enough.”

 

My head suddenly hurts.

 

“...If you change your mind and try to exact revenge on her again, I never met any of you.”

 

She shook her head. “I will never do that again, don’t worry Amachi. It’s too tiring to make an elaborate plan, keeping up an illusion, and melting in my guilt and self-pity anyways.”

 

The doctor shrugged. “I don’t care at all. Just let anything happen at this point.”

 

“...Well at least you have come to some semblance of ethicalness, professor,” I remarked. “Kind of. The jury’s still out for you, doctor.”

 

“Haha, very funny,” she sarcastically replied. “The jury’s now always out for me with Kessho knowing what I’m up to.”

 

I then smiled at the news I was about to give her, now she was here. “But anyway, I was about to contact you later, but since you’re here, I have some great news for you!”

 

She looked at me apathetically. “Oh? Do tell.”

 

“I got the results from the experiment the other day…”

 

She seemed to looked more interested, I couldn’t tell. “And there was no problem?”

 

I nodded eagerly. “Yes! It was perfect success!”

  
A small smile formed on the professor’s face. “It’s time, isn’t it?”

 

“Yes! I have the date too! So come if you can, please!”

* * *

 

_ “Trevor, Y, can you hear me? Morning is almost here. I can see them coming...I can see light...” _

 

My eyes opened slowly, and I saw the warm orange light of morning in a gray room. A low hissing noise filled it, until I heard a familiar voice, the last voice I heard before I fell deep into unconsciousness.

 

“Wake up Trevor! Y, come out! I told you I will never go back my word!”

* * *

 

 

 

_End._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ending theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OYiNJ6ipH4
> 
> Now here’s the ending! Whoo! And phew, what a ride. It was started during the summer, on 6/16/18, and finished exactly on 11/16/18. It was hard trying to fit in time with that, school, and other shit life threw at me, but I managed.
> 
> And this is the official ending of The Wings of Hopes and Dreams! A year and seven months devoted to making this series, but finally, it has reached an end. And it has faced quite a bit of changes from before.
> 
> To start off things in regards of the story, Gold didn’t really do much in the story because he freed himself a few days before school started, and since he had to catch up with family, school, and with Emerald, he couldn’t spend enough time to do his own investigating. While he may have some uncanny past and future reading powers, they aren’t infallible.
> 
> As stated, Y and Trevor’s roles were originally belonging to Sapphire’s and Wally’s. Ruby’s role was supposed to be Green’s until changed by suggestion, Black’s was supposed to be Sun’s, and Gold’s was unknown, but Silver or Gladion were a friend’s suggestions, Plat-Fai’s role was Dia’s, disguised as Silver, but changed because I didn’t think through that one much, and Emma’s obviously was Colress’. Shauna was considered to be Sakuya at one point because of having more girls in the main cast, but it was changed because she didn’t fit as much and there’s already 4 main Kalos characters, out of a cast of 9. Entirely a coincidence she was chosen to be Rakutsu’s ex, haha…So really, Rakutsu and X were the only ones who kept their own roles since the beginning.
> 
> The whole series was originally planned to be a quadrilogy, with one huge story focused on all the romance routes of HB minus Anghel’s, with it ending with all the possible endings, before finally doing so with Y and Rakutsu trying to fight Colress and fail. Y however, gets a reset button, and the second story focuses on her adventures with Gold, and achieve a happy ending and starts to date Trevor. The third story was focused on the BBL route, taking place a year after the second story, and the fourth one was focused on Holiday Star. While it certainly seems like an interesting concept, it would prove too much for me to do, and it’s way too ambitious, so I split it into how it was like in the game: different universes based on different choices.
> 
> Lysandre and Malva being Trevor’s parents really is just me having a dark sense of humor. I considered making Diantha his mother, but Malva just kind of fitted well. Lysandre also was a necessity as the drive of Colress/Emma, so him being Trevor’s dad wasn’t just a really cruel joke to the poor guy.
> 
> Emma’s current alias was originally Essentia Esprit. It was changed to Emma to make it more subtle that she’s evil.
> 
> The location of the school was originally in what was Kanto and/or Kalos, and in a country that has all the main series regions in it called Hikou. It was changed to Johto as Ho-Oh would be a lot more fitting as a motif of the school and in that region. The city was called Sacred Flame City, but changed to Ho-Oh’s Roost City because I forgot that name. I imagine that it would also be called Sacred Flame City, but Ho-Oh’s Roost City is the official name. In the final version, it is located in what was Ecruteak City, and considered a holy and tourist city. (if you haven't guessed)
> 
> This story is dedicated to my lovely Wolf, the inspiration for Emma and Rakutsu, Adex, Nerd, and Alois, for their insights and interests in it, Nil and Oly, supportive friends who I hope to inspire to have commitment to their goals, Jautts, Josh, Rico, Rita, and Rile for their compliments, my sister for willing to provide the artwork to this series, and to GP, for introducing me to the wild ride of Hatoful Boyfriend.
> 
> Now on to Heaven of Dreams!

**Author's Note:**

> You can shoot me a tweet at my Twitter: @falconofthefall


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